Beyond the Deep Sea (2)
Figures.
Chewing through the MCAE pilot's head, I organized everything I had harvested from it.
…I'd been wondering how they'd managed to kill a Sea Demon. I never imagined it happened like this.
Strictly speaking, they hadn't killed the Sea Demon at all. Instead, it was this research facility—the colossal structure I was standing on right now—that had dealt the creature a fatal blow.
A base with interstellar navigation capability. I never even imagined that.
According to the pilot, aside from the elevator that rose from the top of the facility, the remaining sections—the central zone and the ring-shaped segments—functioned as a starship. After landing on a planet, the crew would use the MCAEs and the resources stored aboard the ship to construct whatever additional facilities they needed.
So that's why there were MCAEs designed purely for spacefaring purposes.
Setting that aside, I'd initially thought the submersible had a strange design because it resembled an escape pod—and in fact, that's exactly what it was. It turned out to be a modified small starship repurposed as a submarine.
At any rate, the PH-101 research facility had arrived here via FTL travel and landed on the seafloor to study deep-sea life.
And in the process of landing, it collided with the Sea Demon.
Neither the facility's central computer nor the Sea Demon dwelling in the deep could possibly have predicted the collision.
The central computer had simply selected terrain where a massive ring-shaped starship stretching several kilometers could land stably. The problem was that, of all places, a wounded Sea Demon happened to be resting there after its battle with the Pale Mask.
Because the facility's entire outer wall was constructed from blacksilver alloy, psychically sensitive creatures were unable to detect it.
Moreover, just as the Fishrians had inflicted serious injury on Adhai with a blacksilver harpoon, weapons forged from blacksilver posed a genuine threat even to overwhelming existences like Sea Demons.
Given the sheer size of this starship, the impact must have dealt the Sea Demon damage on par with an orbital bombardment.
Of course, had the Sea Demon been in perfect condition, it would have dodged somehow and minimized the damage from the collision. But circumstances hadn't allowed it. It was already wounded from its fight with the Pale Mask—and, by all accounts, it had been extremely old, its body long since worn down by age.
One accident stacked on another left the Sea Demon with injuries that natural healing could never mend. And then….
The Fishrian village that had watched it all happened to treat the humans who attacked the Sea Demon with friendliness. Because they worshipped not the Sea Demon, but the Pale Mask.
In exchange for blacksilver weaponry, the humans of the research facility received food and bodyguards from them.
Under normal circumstances, such a bargain could never take place. Even if the Fishrians were inclined toward friendliness, the humans would have refused outright.
But the situation had changed.
PH-101 was a planet under Cult surveillance. The research facility had slipped in secretly during a moment when the surveillance net had weakened, yet somehow—by some inexplicable turn—the net had grown far tighter than expected.
Most likely it was because of Muriel. Judging by her appearance, she was a deer-horned Cultist, and one of the two players backing her seemed to be a high-ranking Cultist.
Whatever the reason, the tightened surveillance net had left the humans of the research facility stranded.
Essential supplies, food included, kept dwindling, and there was no telling when—if ever—they could leave. They had no choice but to rely on the Fishrian village's help.
And so, while the humans of the research facility waited for rescue, the wounded Sea Demon died.
The researchers, with the Fishrians' cooperation, had been moving to recover the Sea Demon's corpse—and that was exactly when No. 26 and Adhai appeared.
The Sea Demon sent a signal to No. 26 before it died.
Whether it had called for help or warned her to flee far away from danger, there was no way to know.
What mattered was that No. 26 received the signal and had tried to save the Sea Demon.
And in the course of it, the two of them were taken captive.
Interrogating the pilot had resolved nearly every question I'd been carrying. Better yet, I'd obtained information that was enormously valuable and useful.
This base is a starship.
Which meant it was something I could dominate with Nightmare Horizon.
My cooldown still had some time left on it, but the fact that I'd gained a means of travel to another planet was encouraging. Once the cooldown expired and things stabilized, I would attempt the domination.
If I set one thing aside, everything else is perfectly satisfying.
The pilots I'd interrogated had left words behind before they died.
'No. 26 escaped, so this place isn't safe'?
The nuance hadn't felt like it referred to me. The humans of the research facility feared something vague and ill-defined.
How best to describe that reaction? Awe and dread in the face of an oncoming catastrophe.
Should I grab a Fishrian and ask?
The only part of the research facility still standing above water was the central zone. Every human in the other sections was either dead in my grasp or drowned.
No. 26 will have cleared out anyone heading into the central zone.
Which meant the only survivors left would be the Fishrians, capable of living underwater for extended periods.
First, I'll rendezvous with No. 26.
I stuffed the pilot's remaining body into my mouth and turned back along the way I'd come.
By the time I reached Section C, the corridor was already brimming with water. Behind me, my tail swung left and right to drive my body forward, while ahead, my webbed fingers spread the water aside and steered my course.
Unlike when I'd been tormenting my prey, there was no need to move slowly now, and I reached the corridor leading to the central zone in an instant.
Smashing lightly through the isolation-seal bulkhead between the corridor and the central zone, I entered—and there were No. 26 and two Fishrians.
One was already held fast in No. 26's tentacles, being devoured alive; the other hung dangling limp from a tentacle, unable to move so much as an inch.
｢You're here!｣
[Zzzzt(Hold on a moment)]
｢Why?｣
As I entered, the corridor full of water came pouring into the central zone along with me. The shredded flesh and blood pooled across the floor were swept away in the current, vanishing without a trace in seconds.
Riding the surge toward No. 26, I examined the restrained Fishrian.
Still alive.
[Zzz Zzzt Zzzzt(I need this one)]
｢But he's an ugly mean human! He was so awful to Little Baby!｣
[Zzzzt Zzz Zzt Zzzzzt(Just a moment. I'll give him right back)]
｢Are you gonna scold him? If you're scolding him, you can have him.｣
[Zzz(Yes)]
Apparently these Fishrians had displeased No. 26 immensely. The evidence was plain: the one she held was being eaten slowly from the feet up, not the head.
"……."
What must it feel like to remain fully conscious while your lower body melts away starting from the feet? He couldn't even scream. No. 26's tentacle was stuffed in his mouth.
Serves him right.
Glancing at the harpoons floating nearby, I understood exactly what No. 26 was thinking. I turned my attention away from the Fishrian with nothing left below the waist but a few shards of bone and muscle, and looked at the restrained one.
Fear was written deep in the creature's eyes. Once I took him off No. 26's tentacles, I snapped both his arms and legs with my combat arms.
"Gwuek!"
"I·have·some·thing·to·ask."
"K-keee! Demon of the deep! Those who defy Father shall know no mercy!"
Despite the agony, the creature carried on loudly, utterly without fear.
"Quiet·now."
"Keiiiik!"
"If·you·keep·yap·ping·it·will·hurt·more."
"…Keek."
A tight squeeze around the creature's wrist promptly settled it down.
With such an obedient attitude, it seemed safe to begin questioning.
"What·is·it·that·the·humans·here·fear?"
"Gurgle. Father despises demons, yeees!"
"Father?"
Does he mean the Pale Mask?
"Pale Mask" was a nickname the humans used. Naturally, the Fishrians would have their own name for it.
The creature didn't answer my question, simply pressing on with its rant.
"This nest is the demons' priiison! If the captured demon escapes, Father will rage, yeees!"
"De·mon?"
"That pink terror! The teeeerror!"
The Fishrian jabbed a finger—or a fin—at No. 26, spitting vitriol. I cracked it across the back of the head and shut it up.
｢What's wrong with him?｣
[Zzz Zzzt Zzzzt(It's nothing)]
Honestly, "smooth communication" would have been a generous description at best, but I could follow what these fish fanatics were getting at.
The Pale Mask won its territorial contest with the Sea Demon and had settled into ease. If a new Sea Demon appears after that, of course it would be furious.
Until now, this blacksilver research facility had served as a kind of cloaking device. But when I broke through part of the outer wall, the boundary between inside and outside had blurred.
Unlike Sea Demons, which sense prey through psychic power, the Pale Mask hunts with an enormous sense of smell and vibration-detecting organs.
Its detection capabilities dwarf my auxiliary organs by a mile. By now, it's registered No. 26.
"Gurgle gurgle. The jailers failed their duty, yeees. Soon Father shall descend! Demons, you too shall face Father's judgment, yeeees!"
The Fishrian snickered, as if to confirm my thoughts.
There was nothing more worth extracting from it. And time was running short before our uninvited guest arrived.
I split both my jaws and crushed the Fishrian's skull.
[Zzz Zzz Zzzzt(It's time to go)]
｢But there's still some left….｣
[Zzzzt Zzzt Zzzt Zzzzt Zzzzzzt(The one who killed your friend is coming. You should get revenge)]
｢Friend? FRIEND! I'll smack the bad guy who killed my friend!｣
No. 26 understood my wave and flailed her tentacles wildly. She seemed every bit as eager to repay the creature that had slaughtered her own kind.
It will follow No. 26. Then there's no need to fight here.
This research facility might serve as a starship later on, so damaging the outer walls any further was out of the question.
Combined, No. 26 and I could gain the upper hand against the Pale Mask, but the odds of winning without taking damage were slim. And if the battle wrecked the base here, it would be as good as throwing away my chance to use Nightmare Horizon.
Let's go up. Not here.
If Mother of the Sky and Adhai joined us from above, we could subdue the Pale Mask without major losses.
[Zzzzt Zzzzt(Let's head outside)]
｢Okay.｣
No. 26 answered and tightened the tentacle gripping the Fishrian. The merman's body came apart in pieces, and she tucked the head alone inside herself and followed at my tail.
｢Let's go!｣
Hm.
Watching her cheer happily while dissolving and swallowing a fish head, I could well imagine what kind of looks others gave me.
…Useless thoughts can wait.
I approached the massive cylinder at the center of the zone—the underwater elevator. A gate was installed in the cylinder, sized for submersibles to enter and exit.
From here, we could shoot straight to the surface.
[Zzzzt Zzz Zzzzt Zzzzt(Be careful—it could get dangerous)]
Having warned No. 26 first, I seized the gap of the gate with my combat arms and pulled. The massive blacksilver bulkhead groaned, and then, driven by the pressure differential between the elevator's interior and the entire zone, a storm of air slammed against my outer skin.
And all the seawater filling the zone surged upward like an ascending dragon. Gripping No. 26, I crawled into the underwater elevator.
Water rushed into the wide cylinder, and No. 26 and I were lifted rapidly upward.
｢Wow! It moves all by itself! So cool! So fun!｣
True to her nature as a deep-sea predator, No. 26 seemed to suffer no ill effects whatsoever from the water pressure or air pressure changes.
As we climbed, my auxiliary organs detected something. A massive creature was closing in on the underwater elevator at tremendous speed.
The Pale Mask is following.
In step with it, a faint tremor ran through the elevator walls.
It wasn't the water. Outside, the Pale Mask was roaring, and the shockwaves of its cries were striking the elevator's outer hull.
Almost there.
As I rose through the elevator, I coiled my lower tail back and then flung it wide open. The fins and claws along my tail caught the water, and my body shot upward.
Then my head carapace collided with the closed elevator hatch. My horns blasted the exit gate apart, and we broke free of the research facility at last.
｢That part was fun!｣
Truly free for the first time in ages, No. 26 pulled every fin from her body.
Her form glowed, radiating an otherworldly light, and her pinkish-violet fins fluttered and danced in the water.
No. 26 swam through the darkness-heavy sea, her whole body expressing joy. She was as beautiful as a celestial maiden draped in wings of silk, descending to the world below.
So this is what a Sea Demon could look like.
｢Big Baby! This feels SO good!｣
Watching her revel in her newfound freedom was a genuinely lovely sight. If time had allowed, I would have swum the ocean with her—but there was no leisure for that now.
I can't see it yet, but….
Looking down beneath my tail revealed nothing of the Pale Mask—but my auxiliary organs felt it clearly. A monster brimming with fury was closing the distance at tremendous speed.
[Zzzzt Zzz Zzzzt Zzz Zzzzt(Let's play together later. Right now, we have to go)]
｢Okay. Let's play together later.｣
No. 26 and I moved toward the island. In water she was far faster than I was, so she matched her pace to mine.
Midway, she fired a wave at me.
｢Big Baby! The bad guy's following us!｣
[Zzzzzt Zzz Zzzzt(Ignore it. Keep going)]
A roar sounded behind me. And as the roar drew nearer, the distance to the island where Mother of the Sky and Adhai waited shrank all the faster.
｢Go away!｣
Then No. 26 tore off one of her tentacles and fired something backward at my rear.
A psychic technique distinct from her Binding trait streaked behind us, and a pained whimper began to lace the ongoing roar.
Thanks to No. 26, the Pale Mask's pursuit slowed slightly, and we made landfall on the island without incident.
Mother of the Sky and Adhai had finished clearing out the Fishrian village and were waiting for us.
｢Adult｣｢Big Adult!｣
｢Little Baby! You're safe!｣
｢Morph—…huh? What the hell is that behind you?｣
[Zzzzzzt Zzz Zzzzzt(The Pale Mask. Everyone, prepare for battle)]
The instant I fired my wave, a colossal creature thrust its head up from the water behind me. Mother of the Sky's eyes went wide at the sight of it.
｢What? The Pale Mask? You have got to be shi…!｣
｢Adult｣｢Enemy｣｢Scary｣
｢That bad guy killed my friend! I'm gonna smack him SO hard!｣
｢Me｣｢Big Adult's｣｢Words｣｢Heard｣
Facing the mighty new enemy, everyone readied themselves for battle.