84
Chapter 84
The memories continued, and the Slayers were swimming quickly to get out of the pit by following the light.
"Olivia!! Above you!!"
"Kik, gigik!! Kiiieeeeeek!!!!"
"Ugh-!!"
Rumble!!
A stone pillar surged from the void, instantly bursting the monster fish that was rushing at the woman wearing a witch hat at a terrifying speed.
"Phew....... Thanks, Siwoo."
Han Siwoo did not open his mouth to reply, merely giving a small nod.
Craaack-!!
Crunch!! Bang!!!
Perhaps it was proof that he was a protagonist through and through; even in this chaotic, unexpected situation, he didn't lose his composure as he protected the Slayers and carved out a path himself.
The inside of the pit was truly pitch black, leaving several Slayers without the Dark Vision ability completely exposed and vulnerable.
This was especially true for Alexandra, who had practically lost all of her abilities the moment she entered the water.
Craaack-!!
Crunch!! Bang!!!
From all directions, stone pillars, rebar, and logs shot out at a rate of four or five per second, accurately striking the monster fish that were targeting the Slayers.
"Pant, pant, thank you, Siwoo."
"Just a little further!!"
At last, the light seen from afar gradually drew closer, until they were near enough to clearly recognize it as an exit.
Swoosh-!
Without much difficulty, Han Siwoo's group successfully made it out of the 'pit' safely, finally getting a chance to catch their breath.
Upon emerging, the outside was an ocean with a slightly bright blue tint.
"Honestly, I wouldn't ever think this was an ocean on Earth."
Xiao muttered softly.
She was right. Aside from the hole the Slayers had just escaped from, the surroundings were completely flat.
It was a smooth floor, so flat that the horizon was visible.
It was a terrain often seen in the Monster Fish Zone, but there was no way the Slayers had ever been in here before.
If you didn't know better, you'd believe it was a different planet.
"Phew, haaaa......."
"This is truly a mess. What in the world is going on......."
The Mechanic, Marianne, grumbled as she sprawled out in the water.
"This is so confusing......."
"I know, right? What in the world is going on?"
Now that the urgent situation had passed, the Slayers finally had a moment to assess their predicament and gathered around to put their heads together.
Naturally, the one who drew the most attention was the protagonist of these memories, Charlotte Eyra.
Because she was the person most directly and heavily involved in the Ascension Ritual.
"Charlotte, what exactly happened here?"
"That damn guy in the gown. I knew he was going to cause trouble eventually."
"U-um, it would be best if we didn't fight, please stop......."
While that brief commotion took place, Parang and Oceanus gained some time to focus on something else.
"Hey, do you see that? This person named Charlotte, and who was that again? The one with green hair."
"Alexandra."
"Right. Look at her right ring finger. It's faint, but it's definitely there."
"Ah, you're right."
It was the search for one of their main questions—the 'ring'.
In the other memories, they had been so focused on the pit, the swarm of monster fish, and 'what the Slayers encountered' that they hadn't paid attention to the 'Slayers' themselves, but now those unseen details were becoming visible.
Sure enough, looking closely, all of the Slayers were undeniably wearing that transparent ring named 'Happy Ending'.
"But the other artifacts are missing?"
"You're right. Hmm......."
However, just as Elvira had pointed out, besides the ring, not a single artifact like an earring, a necklace, a shield, or a sword could be seen.
"I guess it makes sense in a way, since they were dropped in the ocean?"
"But they were all using them perfectly fine during the battle. Well, except for Han Siwoo."
"We'll probably find out if we keep following the memories."
"Then why did the ring fall into the ocean?"
"Who knows. There's also the possibility that it isn't an artifact."
"Hmm......."
That certainly made sense. If the ring didn't fall into the ocean while all the artifacts did, it was probably because it wasn't an artifact.
For now, Parang kept that possibility in mind.
"Since we're looking, let's observe carefully. Who knows if there's something else besides the ring."
That made sense too. Everyone agreed, and they paused the memory at a good angle to begin their observation.
While doing so, Parang noticed something strange.
"Huh? Guys, look at that."
"Hmm? What is it."
"Hunter Han Siwoo, tucked inside his cloak by his waist, do you see that?"
"Well, something seems to be sparkling, but it's hard to see because it's dark."
"Is it a sword?"
"No. Its shape is a bit weird for a sword......."
Sure enough, there was something shiny hanging by Hunter Han Siwoo's waist, tucked inside his cloak.
Since it was perfectly hidden by the cloak and vaguely shaped, the other members of Oceanus had a hard time identifying it, but Parang was a Painter in her past life.
How many times must she have observed objects? She was able to recognize what it was immediately.
And with that, Parang's voice stiffened.
"It's a lens."
"Eh? A lens?"
"Out of nowhere, suddenly a lens, what does that mean?"
"That's right, a lens. The kind mostly used in live broadcast cameras."
By nature, Painters are just as familiar with cameras as Photographers or Broadcast Writers. Parang also knew a lot about cameras, possessing far more knowledge in this area than others.
At those words, not only Parang's but everyone's expressions hardened.
"A live...... broadcast?"
"Yeah. I'm certain."
"Then, wait a minute. All of this......."
"It means someone other than us was watching."
"Who in the world......?"
Putting together the facts Parang had figured out so far, there was exactly one candidate.
"......The Government."
How they managed to slip a camera onto Han Siwoo and how they were connected to the Ascension Ritual was unknown, but one thing was certain.
"They really seemed like crazy people. Trying to build an aquarium inside the building out of nowhere, or screaming while splashing water in the hallway."
The entire top brass of the World Government was completely possessed by something.
The intensity of this possession was so strong that the symptoms had spread from just a few victims.
Considering all those facts, the person watching the situation through Hunter Han Siwoo's camera was a high-ranking Government official.
This way, all the pieces fit together perfectly.
They had fallen victim to the mental attack of that eye while watching the actions of the Slayers.
'But, why? How? Who? Since when??'
But that was as far as it went. Countless questions sprouted up again, one after another.
How much did the World Government know? Why was Han Siwoo given a live broadcast camera? For what? Why? What for?
"Phew......."
Parang felt dizzy for a moment.
Goodness, every time they resolved one question, dozens more popped up in a row. It was pure torture.
"At times like this, it's much better to exclude guesses, gather and record only factual information, and piece it together later. Let's just note that 'Hunter Han Siwoo had a live broadcast camera on his waist' and move on."
"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea......."
After that, they spent some time trying to find other peculiarities among the Slayers, but they couldn't find anything other than the ring and the camera.
"Then, I'll play it again."
"Okay."
The memory resumed, and the Slayers' argument soon died down.
"Everyone, let's not blame Charlotte too much. Blaming her right now won't make things better, and it won't be too late to deal with it after we resolve this whole situation."
Thanks to Hunter Han Siwoo's mediation, the briefly hostile atmosphere calmed down, shifting into a mood to work together and break through the difficulties.
Since he was a protagonist through and through, falling into despair didn't even seem to be an option for him.
From Oceanus's perspective, it was a good thing. They already had so much information to process; if internal conflict had broken out among the Slayers on top of that, they might have actually gone crazy.
But what a cold world this was. Instead of fighting, the Slayers shocked Oceanus in a different way.
"Ah, right. Siwoo."
"Hmm?"
"What does your quest say right now?"
Han Siwoo's expression stiffened briefly, turning incredibly cold and hard.
It was truly just for a moment, a fleeting instant that most didn't seem to notice, but Parang was different.
It was thanks to analyzing and drawing hundreds of human facial expressions in her past life.
'Huh? Just now.......'
She alone was able to clearly catch the expression that flashed across Hunter Han Siwoo's face.
However, since it was a truly brief, subtle display of emotion, Parang also stopped at thinking, 'Is he having a hard time?' and didn't dig into it deeply.
And in the first place, there was no time to dig deeply into it anyway.
Because the conversation that followed was far too shocking.
"You're right, I didn't think of that. Let me check."
He gestured in the air for a moment before speaking in a slightly flustered tone.
"......It says, 'Find Oceanus'."