Creatures of the Deep Sea (4)
'So, where should I start?'
There were countless ways to hunt down the survivors of the research base. I could smash through the outer wall and throw the internal pressure into chaos, or destroy the underwater elevator and let them slowly wither away inside.
The first option wasn't bad, but it came with a problem. If the base collapsed and No. 26 got hurt in the process, that would be a disaster.
'I need to eat anyway, so I'll go with the traditional method.'
Track down the survivors, torment them, then kill them. The same approach I'd been using all along.
'But first, let me seal off the exits.'
Having decided how I would cook the researchers, I set off together with No. 26.
The zone we were in had no corridor connecting to the elevator. To reach the central zone where the underwater elevator and submersibles were stationed, we'd have to pass through another zone.
'I need to destroy the underwater elevator and the submersibles before the survivors get there.'
Once those were broken, the base would stop being a place that saved humans and become a prison that held them captive.
'If they were Fishrians it wouldn't matter, but humans can't adapt their bodies like that.'
With the exits gone, only two choices would remain for a human.
Die at my hands, or end their own lives.
Even if they miraculously escaped the base aboard another submersible, no future awaited them.
The Fishrian village, allied with the humans of the base, was being assaulted by Mother of the Sky and Adhai right now. A griffin who had reached such a high level of deification could easily wipe out a settlement of that size.
Besides, she was a ranker. She would surely have fought Fishrians before — plenty of them or a few, one way or the other.
'They show up endlessly in ocean monster hunts, after all.'
Semi-boss tier sea creatures like Sea Demons and Pale Masks offered excellent rewards, so high-ranking players frequently went after them. Mother of the Sky, who had even led a clan, must have plenty of experience dealing with Fishrians.
'She's been working hard preparing the raid all on her own.'
Ocean bosses carried so many useful traits that Amorph absolutely had to hunt them. Which was why I'd often waited until other players had nearly finished killing one, then ambushed them and took out both monster and hunters at once.
Hunting alone a creature that others brought down together was hardly my choice to make, but it earned me more than a little vitriol.
Anyway, one of those nightmarish raid bosses — the kind that commands swarms of revolting fish-men as minions — was floating right beside me, firing off chatty psychic waves nonstop.
｢Big Baby! Big Baby! Did you meet Little Baby?｣
[Zzzt zzz zzzzt zzz zzzzt (Of course. That's how I was able to get this far.)]
｢Little Baby got really hurt. Is she okay?｣
[Zzzzz zzz zzzzt zzz zzzzt (I treated Adhai. She's fine now.)]
｢Treat? What's treat?｣
[Zzzt zzzzt zzzt (It means I made the hurt go away.)]
｢Wow, amazing! Big Baby, you're so cool!｣
Whether it was joy at seeing me after so long, No. 26 had been chattering away without a pause for a while now. And since I didn't find talking with her burdensome in the slightest, I kept right on answering.
｢The humans who bully Little Baby are bad.｣
[Zzzt (Yeah.)]
｢Lots of my kind died because of the ugly humans.｣
[Zzzt (Huh?)]
｢The strongest one. The humans grabbed me when I tried to help her before she died. So I couldn't help.｣
What No. 26 said next was entirely unexpected.
｢My friend died, and now her family is in big trouble. A bad one came and is being mean to them!｣
No. 26 called me and Adhai her babies. There was only one kind of being she would ever call family or kin.
'Her kind would be the Bubble Amoebas.'
But Bubble Amoebas were weak, at best. So the "strongest friend" had to be a Sea Demon.
'A Sea Demon died?'
Limited to this planet alone, the number of beings capable of hunting a Sea Demon wasn't large.
'Don't tell me it was Muriel?'
The thought flashed through my mind, but that couldn't be it. From what No. 26 said, the Sea Demon had died after we entered this planet.
'Strange. I don't see any weapon powerful enough to kill a Sea Demon.'
Even if they had some weapon I couldn't detect, the odds of them having attacked a Sea Demon were low. The Fishrians would never have cooperated with the humans if they had.
'...No, wait.'
Let me rethink this.
The ones who had gravely wounded Adhai before she came looking for me were the human-Fishrian alliance.
Until now, I'd assumed the Fishrians served the Sea Demon.
That the humans were holding No. 26 — a Sea Demon — hostage to force their cooperation.
That No. 26 had been lured into this blacksilver-built base and overwhelmed while helpless.
That was what I'd believed, and I had been wrong.
'I got it wrong from the very first step.'
Fishrians deified ocean predators. There was no way they would meekly stand guard over a Sea Demon locked in a cage. And the idea that they would simply overlook a weakened, captive Sea Demon made no sense at all.
In other words, the Fishrian village on this archipelago did not worship Sea Demons.
'Humans and Fishrians formed an alliance against a common enemy?'
But one question remained.
The Fishrians were an extremely belligerent species. Show them any living creature and the first thing they thought of was sacrificing it.
'How did they win over creatures like that?'
Luring them with weapons or equipment seemed unlikely. It was more plausible that the humans had shared information about the Sea Demon's weaknesses — but I doubted those ignorant fish-brains would have accepted that alone.
Moreover, even if the humans had told the Fishrians about a Sea Demon's weakness, the Fishrians hunting one would be impossible. They had nothing. How they managed to kill such a colossal monster — a Sea Demon, of all things — was beyond my guessing.
'...I don't have enough information. Let's just stay alert.'
One thing was certain: somewhere in this deep sea, there existed an ocean monster worshipped by the Fishrians that was not a Sea Demon.
'If it's not a Sea Demon, a Pale Mask is the most likely candidate.'
Dread Hydras existed too, creatures of Sea Demon caliber, but they never left their own territory. Their very anatomy made movement outside water difficult. Dread Hydras inhabited only the deepest of the deep, so they would never come into contact with Fishrians at all.
Pale Masks were different.
They hunted actively across a vast range, not just the abyss. Sometimes they ranged all the way up near the surface, which brought them into occasional contact with Fishrians.
'If a Pale Mask is the enemy, that's almost good news.'
A Pale Mask was an abyssal predator one tier below a Sea Demon. Even someone like me, lacking water-combat traits, could hold my own against one.
'And I have No. 26 with me.'
In raw power, Mother of the Sky might still be stronger, but No. 26 had fought beside me many times. With her supporting me, I could take on even a Pale Mask and hold the advantage.
[Zzzzt zzz zzzzt zzzzzt zzzzt (After we punish the humans who hurt her family, we'll find out who's behind it.)]
｢Yeah. Okay.｣
I'd have to make sure to leave at least one of them alive when I dealt with the humans.
Mind made up, I dove with No. 26 into the pitch-black water.
｢What's your estimate of the damage to the base?｣
｢Given that water has reached Zone A, we project additional structural failure in Zone H.｣
｢We've confirmed the elevator zone. It's still operating normally.｣
｢Phew. Thank God for that.｣
A corridor inside Zone B.
Twenty researchers were making their way through a flooded passageway.
After the massive impact, water had poured into the primary situation room without end; there had been no holding it. Forced to abandon the room, they had donned emergency reinforcement suits and resolved to escape.
The reinforced suits worn by the researchers resembled spacesuits in appearance, but theirs were built exclusively around the wearer's safety and survival functions, which was what allowed them to endure this frigid water.
Still, there was no room for relief.
Because the most dangerous element in their current location wasn't the cold.
｢That said, the massive water influx has destabilized the internal pressure. The central zone with the elevator is holding for now, but we can't say how long it will last.｣
Zones A and B, which oversaw the entire base, were already submerged. Issuing commands to the central computer to pump out the water was no longer possible.
'...Damn it all!'
The mutated Sea Demon was missing, presumed dead or alive, no one knew, and this precious research base was flooding.
Ren An, the chief researcher and "captain" of this expedition, knew exactly how expensive this base was — and how many "special functions" it housed.
No matter how great his achievements, leaving things in this kind of shambles meant he should count himself lucky if all he received was a disciplinary review.
｢Which zones haven't flooded yet?｣
｢C and D.｣
｢We're in B right now, so we should head there and move through the elevator in the central zone.｣
｢Not a bad idea.｣
While Ren An churned his brain furiously over cost-benefit calculations, his team members had already finished discussing what to do next.
｢What's your call, sir?｣
｢…….｣
｢Team Leader?｣
When his subordinates pressed him for an opinion, Ren An finally spoke.
｢...First, we move to Zone C. We finish recharging our oxygen there and depart immediately.｣
｢Yes, sir.｣
｢And as we go, we manually shut every bulkhead that's still open. That'll buy us a little more time.｣
Weighing profit and loss was something you could only do if you were still alive. An enormous volume of water was pouring into the base in real time.
And it wasn't just the seawater chasing them.
｢Seal complete.｣
｢Good. Moving again.｣
Progressing through the corridors of Zone B, they had to stop at every unsealed door, which slowed them down — but there was no helping it.
The monster that had caused all of this. It was following close behind.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
｢Damn it, that sound again.｣
｢...It sounds closer than before.｣
｢Hey, shit, don't jinx it.｣
Proof of that came in the form of the booms that had been ringing out since earlier — sounds that had repeated at regular intervals ever since the thing first struck the base.
Every researcher knew what that noise was.
It was something slamming into the sealed bulkheads.
Just as one team member had muttered, the sound kept drawing closer.
｢…….｣
｢...gulp.｣
Every time it echoed through the water, the researchers felt their hearts clench in a vise. Perhaps this was what a condemned man felt climbing the steps to the gallows.
And there was one more thing feeding their dread.
｢Hiiik?!｣
｢Wh-what? What is it?｣
｢A b-body...!｣
One of the team members staggered backward at the sight of drowned corpses drifting through the water-filled corridor.
Colleagues who had shared meals and sat in meetings with them until yesterday were now pale-faced corpses, floating listlessly in the gloom.
｢You half-witted bastard! What are the rest of you doing? Someone hold him up!｣
His subordinate's idiotic panic nearly made Ren An squeeze the trigger of the gauss rifle in his hands. Barely restraining himself, he lashed out irritably at his team.
｢Team Leader, there's something on the bodies... marks of some kind.｣
One of the team members had noticed something strange about the corpses. Perhaps deep-sea fish had drifted in, because the bodies were covered in wounds that looked like something small had been gnawing at them.
｢Shut up! We don't have time to waste! We have to move, now!｣
｢Y-yes, sir!｣
But Ren An, whose mind had already been pushed to its limit, simply overrode his team member's observation.
'What sin did I commit to deserve this kind of misfortune?!'
Ren An cursed silently under his breath, over and over. According to the Cultists, those who sinned against Providence went to hell. Among hell's many tiers, they said, there was one where sinners were tortured in ice water — and his current situation matched it perfectly.
Maybe it was because they had pressed on without rest while morale plummeted.
Their longed-for destination finally drew near. One of the team members shouted at the top of his lungs.
｢Team Leader! Twenty meters to Zone C! We're almost there!｣
｢Oh, thank God!｣
｢Whew, we can finally rest a little.｣
Convinced the summit was within reach, everyone found a second wind and pressed hard. Thanks to the reinforced suits boosting their physical capabilities, they managed to force their steps forward despite the crushing water pressure.
As they waded through the water, one researcher at the very rear felt a tickling sensation around his waist.
｢Hm?｣
His leg had been itching ever since he'd stumbled earlier, but the intensity was stronger now.
It felt as if something was crawling up his back. He dismissed it as just an itch — but the thought didn't last long.
｢Uh, uhh? Uuuughh!｣
｢Hey? What's wrong?｣
When the colleague behind them suddenly screamed, the nineteen other researchers all whirled around at once.
｢S-something got inside my suit!｣
｢What?｣
｢Get it out, get it out of meeeagh! AAAAAGH! They're eating me alive!｣
The researcher writhed and twisted, shrieking in agony.
To anyone who didn't know what was happening, it would have looked utterly comical — but not a single person in that corridor laughed.
｢Goddamn it! Hold on!｣
｢Gah?! Wh-what is that?｣
Two other team members checked the wrist terminal on his arm. The moment they saw the foreign bodies detected inside his suit through the feed, they recoiled in horror.
Several palm-sized organisms were clinging to the area around his waist, one on top of another.
Even as they watched, the unidentified creatures kept crawling steadily upward — biting and tearing at the flesh of the suited researcher as they went.
｢Gakh!｣
Splurt.
Moments later, the researcher vomited blood that filled his helmet. The inside of the visor turned crimson in an instant, and the man's body went limp.
｢W-wait? Hey? Y-you don't mean—｣
｢I-I'll check his vitals!｣
｢You idiots! Don't open it!｣
Ren An's cry came too late — one of the researchers had already cracked open the limp man's helmet. Inside, five or six flea-like black insects wriggled, drenched in blood.
｢AAAAAGH!｣
｢HIIIK!｣
While the researchers recoiled in shock, the things burst out of the helmet and vanished somewhere into the darkness beyond the water.
Cruel as it was for the survivors present, that had only been the skirmish. Seconds after the insects disappeared into the dark, a thunderous boom shook the water.
The bulkhead they had passed through just moments ago had been breached.
｢Everyone, RUN!｣
Ren An bellowed. The team members, as if waking from a daze, threw themselves into a mad sprint.
｢Hah, hah, hah, hah!｣
｢Hahk, hahk!｣
While nothing but ragged gasping came through the communicators linked inside their helmets, it was closing in fast.
｢Hahk?!｣
｢Guhak!｣
Two startled cries from the men at the rear crackled briefly through the comms. Those were their last words.
｢CRACK. Snap.｣
The transmission cut off with the sound of breaking bone. Everyone with their communicator still on heard it.
They ran without a word, until they reached the bulkhead leading into Zone C.
｢Open it, now!｣
｢W-we don't have time!｣
｢Goddamn it! Hey! You, you, and you — get over there and block that thing!｣
｢What? Are you fucking insane?｣
｢How the hell are we supposed to block THAT!｣
When his team members protested, Ren An leveled the gauss rifle at them.
｢Your sacrifice for your comrades — I won't forget it. Now go and stop it.｣
｢You son of a bitch, Team Leader!｣
｢If you shoot it with that gun—｣
｢I'll say it one last time. Go. Block. It.｣
While Ren An sent his researchers off as bait, another team member managed to get the bulkhead open.
Isolation chambers resembling airlocks stood between each zone, and sixteen people piled inside. The space was cramped, and with them all wearing spacesuit-like reinforced gear, it filled up the instant they entered.
'Good thing I sent those three ahead for exactly this.'
Ren An allowed himself a brief flicker of self-praise — even in a crisis, experience showed. The other team members seemed relieved too, and sighed together.
But their misfortune was far from over.
｢T-Team Leader!｣
｢What?｣
｢Th-that... thing....｣
A team member called out to Ren An and pointed at the door. When Ren An followed the man's trembling finger, his breath caught in his throat.
Beyond the small reinforced-glass window of the airlock.
There was its eye.
The thing's white eye swept slowly across the chamber, taking in the interior — as if memorizing exactly how many of them were inside, down to the last man.
Startled to his core by its relentlessness, Ren An screamed.
｢D-Drain the water! Drain it, NOW!｣
｢Yes, sir!｣
A team member frantically worked the airlock terminal. Only after the water flooding the isolation chamber had been pumped out could they finally enter Zone C.
｢What the hell? This place is flooded too?｣
｢Team Leader, what do we do?｣
Thud.
｢Shit! It's right behind us!｣
｢Everyone, RUN!｣
With no time to shed their reinforced suits, they bolted down the half-flooded corridor of Zone C.