45
Chapter 45
"...."
After the Dive ended, the six members of Oceanus opened their eyes.
They were looking at each other with different expressions in their eyes, but there was exactly one thing. One emotion they all shared.
It was bewilderment.
Right now, they were deeply bewildered.
"I will notify Cylo first. I have to tell them that the 'Evidence' contains memories."
Parang broke the Silence and spoke up.
"Ah, you don't need to worry about that. Someone from Cylo already came, did a Dive, and left."
"Ah."
Once again, suddenly. They were fast.
Well, regarding the issue of the 'Evidence', Cylo had to restore it or do something with it first before Parang could do anything, so that part was set aside for now.
Now was the time to focus on Alexandra's memories.
"Let's watch this a few more times."
Like that, Alexandra's memories were played about three more times, and the Oceanus emergency meeting began.
"Hmm. Finally."
In order to hold the meeting, Diego also needed to be able to speak, so they had come out of the water.
No one was heavily sunken in mood, depressed, or despairing.
Even though they had seen with their own eyes the death of a person who had saved the World and become a god.
There were about three reasons for that. Ah, three reasons. I ended up seeing it again.
Anyway. First. All members of Oceanus generally had quite strong mentalities. Even if a Skill protected them from a Mental Attack, they lived seeing those damn Monster Fishes every single day. Furthermore, the atmosphere of the Deep Sea itself was incredibly heavy and gloomy. To endure in such a place, their mentalities regarding this sort of thing were very strong.
Of course, just as Parang had momentarily collapsed after the broadcasting accident, their Resistance to stress coming from normal Human relationships or social life was at the level of ordinary people.
The point was that their mentalities wouldn't be greatly broken just by seeing an army of Monster Fishes, a bizarre Pit, or Alexandra's death.
Secondly, because Alexandra's death was... surprisingly peaceful.
Of course, the fact that she died couldn't be denied, but seeing someone screaming and dying in terrible Pain was worlds apart from seeing someone accepting death peacefully as if falling asleep. Whether she truly had no fear inside would only be properly revealed if they saw the memories Alexandra placed in the 'Evidence', but for now.
Thirdly, because they recognized the severity of the situation and what they had to do. Everyone clearly confirmed with their own two eyes that the Slayers had died in the sea. Now, Oceanus also had no choice but to admit that they were the only ones left who could protect the World.
Despair, depression, or whatever. Shouldn't they save the World first?
For those reasons, they were able to stay calm for the time being.
And although this only applied to Parang, she secretly thought it was a relief inward.
At the very least, Alexandra hadn't died a horrible death.
Even if she had turned off her interest after reincarnating, they were the protagonists of a story she had once loved, and now they were clearly beings who could be called the Heroes of Earth.
The fact that they hadn't died thrashing about in screams was a little pleasing to her.
They moved to the Conference Room prepared in Parang's house.
It wasn't a separate Conference Room in the house, but just a room with a tremendously large sofa and a large Fishbowl.
Since she had to constantly bring in and let out as many as seven --now six-- people into the house, there were quite a few rooms like this.
Anyway. Oceanus, seated.
The sofa was so incredibly large that everyone could sit.
"First, let's start with the suspicious points each of us felt. There isn't just one or two strange parts."
It was definitely true. Alexandra's memories were undeniably strange somehow. It seemed especially so in the eyes of Parang, who had read the Original Work.
"Wait, where did the 'World' go?"
"What's that?"
"How do you not know something even Parang knows, Russell? Take some interest in how the world works."
The 'World' was a Two-handed Longsword that glowed white. Hunter Han Siwoo crafted it himself in the early parts of the Original Work... Well. It's a Hunter story. It was a Weapon reinforced by grinding up everything from all sorts of magical beasts to the final boss of the Original Work.
It was literally a sword containing the world. That sword, which he always carried during battle, was absent from the Han Siwoo in Alexandra's memories.
Honestly, if they had the 'World', the Slayers wouldn't have been pushed into such a corner. They might have even won.
"Isn't it just missing because it fell into the sea? You know, during the Ascension. They all fell in."
"No. Alexandra had the 'Evidence'. And Olivia had 'Departure'."
It was true. For some reason, all of their Artifacts, which the Slayers should have dumped into the sea, had returned to their hands.
Artifacts like Yumeko's 'Superhuman' and Mari's 'Amazement'.
All the main weapons or symbolic Artifacts of the Slayers' heroines were being handled very naturally in their hands.
Except for one, Han Siwoo's 'World'.
"Then we should start from there. Not questioning why the 'World' is missing, but why the other things are there. I'm saying we should discuss this."
Xiao had hit the nail on the head.
"I think so too. But, hmm...."
"Hmm...."
Honestly, how could they know?
According to what Cylo told Parang, the point where the Slayers dropped their Artifacts was about 8,000 kilometers away from Hawaii.
That was one-fifth of the Earth's circumference.
Artifacts aside, it was a distance even Parang would have a hard time swimming.
"Maybe they used a retrieval function?"
"Make some sense. They didn't even know they were on Earth until they caught that bizarre Pit."
It was true. It was unlikely that the Slayers, who didn't even know they were fighting on Earth at the time, would have attempted 'retrieval', and even if they had, there was no way an Artifact 8,000 km away would have come rushing into its owner's arms.
In the end, the case fell back into a labyrinth.
"I think we can deduce this after doing a Dive a few more times. For now, let's focus on the information we can figure out from this Dive."
It was a valid point. It was a time that required selection and focus.
"I have something to say."
The first one to choose what they should focus on was Bertea.
"You know, when that black whatever was pierced and the Monster Fishes got faster. Didn't you guys think anything of it?"
"Not really."
"I definitely felt it."
It was Russell and Diego, respectively.
"I don't know about the other Monster Fishes since I haven't seen them closely, but the Ghost Ship was definitely strange. Its movements seemed as if it had been sluggish and then returned to its original speed. Not that it got faster than usual."
As Diego stated what he observed, Bertea chimed in from the side with a supplementary explanation.
"Right. After the black something was hit, the Ghost Ship started moving at its 'original speed'."
That certainly meant a lot.
Because moving normally and then getting faster was worlds apart from moving slowly and returning to original speed.
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure. I've followed the Ghost Ship around several times. It was slowed down and then returned to its original speed."
"So, you're saying that the Monster Fishes, which were moving slower than usual, started moving normally as soon as the black mist was hit......."
This makes the situation ambiguous again.
If the Monster Fishes had gotten 'faster' after the black mist was hit, they could guess that the black mist had released some hidden power after being struck, or that the Monster Fishes were enraged because it was an important entity.
But the Monster Fishes, which had been moving slower than usual, began to move at their original speed as soon as the black mist was hit?
Parang fell into thought for a moment.
Doesn't this....... somehow...... feel like that?
"Could the black something....... have been making the Monster Fishes' movements slower......?"
If so, the situation felt very natural.
The Monster Fishes, which had been slowed down by the black mist, were freed from their restrictions and ran wild when the black mist was hit.
The pieces of the puzzle fit together perfectly. Except for exactly one part.
"Why?"
Exactly. Why?
Why did that black mist Monster Fish slow down the movements of the other Monster Fishes? If it was trying to help the Slayers, that made no sense. The black mist clearly showed movements to attack the Slayers, and even did attack them. Shooting out strange purple thorns.
Though its accuracy was truly abysmal. Well, that was because the Slayers dodged well. Anyway.
In the first place, it looked like the black mist itself had brought that army. The way it aloofly emitted light from its eyes in the center of the Monster Fishes swarming like bees seemed as if it was advertising, 'I am the final boss.'
Various opinions went back and forth after that, but no answer came out that made them think, 'Ah, this is it!'
Ultimately, this was also skipped for now due to a lack of information.
The next things worth discussing were the identity of the Pit and Alexandra's final moments.
But this also lacked information.
Even after watching the battle scene with the Pit for almost an hour and a half, and even seeing the scene where it died, they couldn't specify its identity.
Not to mention the Pit itself, it was impossible to deduce the identity of the attacks it spewed out. All members of Oceanus had roamed the sea their entire lives, but they hadn't even found anything remotely similar to such a creature.
The most they could do was draw up an imaginative picture of what its underground appearance might look like using the fragmentary information.
"I think we will have to go there ourselves to check this out."
Thus, the agreed upon plan was a Hawaii expedition. All members of Oceanus would rush to Hawaii as quickly as possible and investigate the area.
How on earth such a Monster was stuck in the Floor of Hawaii and they didn't know about it. Russell took a very enthusiastic beating.
"Ack!! Aaaack!!"
"What were you doing not even noticing there was something like that right under your house, you idiot!!!"
Next was Alexandra's death.
"What on earth was that? Was she possessed by something?"
"I don't think it was that. How should I say it... I think it's closer to Telepathy."
"Yeah. Definitely. Rather than being possessed by something, it strongly felt like she was listening to a story."
"In the distant Deep Sea, unable to even move her body, with a Monster right next to her. What kind of story did she hear to pass away so peacefully?"
"If it were me, I think I would actually be more peaceful in that situation. I'd calmly accept it."
It was Xiao's words.
As an aside, Xiao always maintained an attitude that was incredibly detached from death somehow. An atmosphere that seemed like she would just say, 'Ah, I died,' if she died in battle.
Then again, she could command Skeletons and even view the memories of the deceased. It was understandable.
"That's... a valid point too."
"Well, this is a problem that will be easily solved once we extract the memories contained in the 'Evidence'. Let's worry about it later."
Next, it was Parang's turn to speak. Information that no other Oceanus member, but only she could know.
"Did you guys see Alexandra's Personal Skill?"
"Yeah. Why?"
When Alexandra checked her Status Window to confirm any Status Effects, everyone could see her Personal Skill.
[For Mother Earth]
[Hated by those who are not on the earth.]
[Greatly loved by the earth.]
Although the descriptions of Personal Skills were generally ambiguous, this one was truly baffling. Whether it was the restriction section above or the effect section below, neither could be understood.
Parang's Personal Skill was actually considered very, very decent and intuitive in comparison.
Anyway, the Personal Skill written on Alexandra's Status Window was definitely that. However, this made no sense to Parang.
It was because Alexandra's Personal Skill that appeared in the Original Work was a completely different Skill from that.
[Blessing Seed]
[Becomes extremely vulnerable to all curses.]
[Possesses the Skill, 'Ritual to the Earth'. Becomes greatly strengthened on the land one has blessed.]
This was the description in the Original Work.
"But how do you know that?"
"Uh...... From Cylo, yeah. I heard it from Cylo."
Anyway. An unprecedented event where a Personal Skill was replaced was a case that had never been reported before. Regarding this, Elvira offered an opinion.
"Perhaps....... Could it be related to the Ascension Ritual?"
"Ascension?"
"You know, right. I don't think something in the Deep Sea could touch even the Status Window. And rather than changing due to its influence, it feels like... the Skill has evolved."
That was certainly true. It was unlikely that a Personal Skill altered by the influence of something in the Deep Sea would have content like [Greatly loved by the earth].
"And the only event the Slayers commonly experienced that could be called an 'evolution' is the Ascension Ritual."
"Yeah. Right."
"It would be best to ask Cylo about this part. They must know something. Since they led the Ascension Ritual."
Like that, the meeting regarding the 'Dive' was concluded for now.
Strangely, they gained a lot, yet they also gained nothing.
Something, somehow...... It felt like exactly one puzzle piece was missing for every problem. There were far too many parts where they thought, 'Ah, if we only knew this, it would be easily solved!'
And that was enough to ignite Parang's determination.
In the next Dive, she would absolutely uncover the truth of this incident.
"Now, then......."
After a short break, the second Oceanus meeting began.
"What should we do now."
It was time to make plans for the future.