Beyond the Deep Sea (5)
｢Yay! We won!｣
｢Me｣｢Victory｣｢Cool｣
Before the corpse of the sea monster, No. 26 pulled out just two of its tentacles and raised them in a triumphant V. Adhai perched atop the carcass, wings spread wide, savoring the joy of victory.
｢I thought I'd lived in this world long enough to have seen everything, but this is a first for me.｣
Mother of the Sky, in her griffin form, was watching the two of them carry on with their victory ceremony, clearly impressed.
[Zzzz zzzzzz (Smart kids, aren't they)]
｢...I only borrowed it out of necessity mid-battle. Here, I'm returning it.｣
As I approached, she handed back the short spear she'd been holding in her mouth.
Seeing how well she and Adhai worked together, I should entrust them to her again later.
Adhai was still an underdeveloped Green Galagon, and a mutant at that — her body was small. She would grow far stronger once she became a White Galagon, but that still required time.
Using Mother of the Sky to cover the kid's shortcomings wasn't a bad idea. I was even considering lending her the High Priest's Golden Spear down the line, when No. 26 came drifting over to us.
｢Big Baby! We punished the bad guy!｣
[Zz zz-zz (Yes. Well done)]
｢Mm! But who's that friend next to you?｣
The battle hadn't left me time for introductions. I gave No. 26 a brief explanation of who Mother of the Sky was.
｢So your friend is also the leader of a family?｣
｢...No. I have no family.｣
｢Why? Aren't you a mom? Moms have to protect their babies.｣
｢All of my children are dead. My husband as well. I am alone now.｣
｢Oh. I see.｣
Perhaps sensing Mother of the Sky's grief, No. 26 radiated a dim, dark pink glow. Come to think of it, No. 26 might have gone through something similar herself.
Her entire kind died slowly in experiments, after all.
No. 26 was the last survivor of the Bubble Amoebas on that research vessel. Of all of us, she alone could truly understand that sorrow.
As if lost in thought, she went still for a moment before emitting another wave.
｢A mom has to be strong enough to protect her babies.｣
｢...That's right.｣
｢So I'll call you Middle Baby.｣
｢What?｣
Mother of the Sky recoiled as if she'd misheard. Ignoring her reaction entirely, No. 26 sent another wave.
｢Friend is a mom, but she couldn't protect her babies, so she's still a baby. That's why Middle Baby.｣
｢Uh...｣
Bewilderment flickered across the eyes beneath her eagle face. Her gaze swayed left and right before settling on me.
When I showed no particular reaction, she had no choice but to accept it. The moment she nodded, No. 26 flashed a brief burst of light and added one more thing.
｢Let's get strong together so Middle Baby can protect her family too!｣
｢......｣
Those were No. 26's parting words. The notion of building the strength to protect a family seemed to strike a chord — the resistance had drained from her eyes.
｢Thank you.｣
No. 26 and Adhai were creatures that communicated solely through their signature thought-waves and psychic bursts, so Mother of the Sky conversed with them by sending psychic waves through the special collar fitted around her throat.
The wave she'd just sent carried considerably more sincerity than before.
Having finished talking with Mother of the Sky, No. 26 turned to me.
｢Big Baby, there's somewhere we need to go.｣
[Zzz (Go somewhere?)]
｢Mm. If we don't hurry, we might be too late.｣
Sounded urgent.
I tried to work out what No. 26's wave meant.
With the Pale Mask taken down, there shouldn't be any new threats... Ah.
Come to think of it, she'd said something before. In her words, a "bad girl" — the Pale Mask — had put her friend's family in danger.
Her friend's family.
From the context, the friend almost certainly referred to the Sea Demon. And its family... could that mean other Sea Demons?
No, that can't be it. Sea Demons — and not just one of them, a whole pride — would never lose to a Pale Mask.
So "family" must mean the Bubble Amoebas that lived alongside the Sea Demon.
Frankly, I had no interest in Bubble Amoebas. Even if they contained a Genetic Essence I didn't know about, I couldn't exactly devour them in front of No. 26.
Still, I can't exactly refuse to go.
The only reason she wanted me along was that there was something there I didn't know about. I nodded.
Either way, I'd have to wait a while before devouring the Pale Mask anyway.
There was about thirty minutes left until I could use the Paragon of the Hunt. Taking care of other business in the meantime would be no problem at all.
Before leaving, I told Adhai to eat.
｢Me｣｢Head｣｢Meal｣｢Impossible?｣
[Zzzz zz zzzzz zzzzz zzz zz (The head is poisonous, so don't eat it)]
｢Understood｣｢Ugly friend｣｢Together｣｢Meal｣
｢Hold on. When you say ugly friend, do you mean me?｣
｢You｣｢Tail｣｢None｣｢Horns｣｢None｣｢Ugly｣
｢...Ha.｣
Leaving behind Mother of the Sky and Adhai trading their bizarre comedy routine, No. 26 and I descended back into the water.
｢This way.｣
With her long fins spread wide, No. 26 guided me deeper and deeper into the sea. She swam past the deep-sea research station and slipped into the ocean trench that lay beneath the undersea chasm beside it.
Following her in, I was greeted by a darkness so thick it defied imagination.
Like outer space.
We humans have always described space in terms of water. Machines that travel through space are called spaceships, and we speak of voyaging rather than flying through the void.
This lightless expanse was yet another form of universe — distinct from the cosmos hanging far above it.
Then, ahead of us, No. 26 began to glow, like a star shining of its own accord in the void. Her light held none of the sun's searing intensity, nor the pale pallor of moonlight reflected off the sun.
It was simply a soft, mysterious, and somehow comforting glow that peeled the black curtain away.
How far did we descend? Then I witnessed a breathtaking sight.
In the distance, grains of light began to appear.
Stars?
Stars shining vivid pink, just like No. 26, scattered through the blackness.
They were No. 26's kin — Bubble Amoebas. They were glowing as if resonating with her.
｢Friend's family is alive!｣
No. 26 sighed in relief at the sight.
She sent flickering pulses of light toward the amoeba clusters. From her body flowed a cascade of colors far more varied than the waves she usually used to convey meaning to me.
So that's how the Bubble Amoebas talk to each other.
It made sense — I conversed through the waves produced by my Monster's Tentacles, so I was bound to be different.
The clusters on the receiving end flashed back in a riot of colors, confirming they'd read the message. Another nearby cluster, catching sight of No. 26's light, joined the conversation as well.
The sight of the Bubble Amoebas lighting up their bodies in unison to speak was like a meteor shower, like the Milky Way shimmering across a clear night sky.
Down here at the bottom of the sea — so dark and heavy that no life should be able to exist — the frailest of creatures shone more brilliantly than anything.
Even the most emotionally barren soul would be unable to look upon this scene without feeling awe.
...It's beautiful.
The ball of multicolored light unfolding upon a stage draped in black curtains was astonishingly beautiful.
I had never seen anything like it in the game. Even if an event like this had existed, could a VR machine have captured even one percent of this mesmerizing scenery? I could say with certainty: it would have been impossible.
The conversation of light and color, which felt as though it could go on forever, ended surprisingly quickly. No. 26's body, awash in every shade as she spoke, settled back into its familiar pink.
｢Everyone is okay.｣
The Sea Demon who should have protected them was dead — but so was the Pale Mask, their most powerful competitor. They would be safe now.
More humans might intrude someday, but with Muriel — who had connections among the Cult's upper echelons — gone, the odds of this planet's surveillance net being lifted were low.
From now on, they would live according to nature's rhythm once more. Sometimes fleeing from predators or being devoured by them, sometimes meeting new kin and forming clusters to thrive — that endless cycle.
But when I heard what she said next, I realized that the conversation she'd held had been far from simple.
｢Friend's family asked me for something.｣
[Zzz (Asked?)]
｢They want me to be their mom.｣
I understood exactly what her wave meant.
She wants to stay here?
The moment that meaning registered, I was genuinely shocked. The sense of loss that welled up at the mere thought of being parted from No. 26 was far greater than I'd imagined.
Even as I sat in silence, her waves continued.
｢Friend's family is weak. If no one leads the family, it'll be hard for them when another bad girl comes.｣
I wanted to argue. That was simply nature's order — that this was how Bubble Amoeba ecology had always worked.
｢I know what it feels like to lose a family too. When my family hurts, I hurt with them.｣
No. 26's true species was the Sea Demon.
Just as it was the Amorph's native instinct to plunder the Genetic Essences of other creatures, she was a being meant to live in the depths. Living in the water with her family — with other Bubble Amoebas — was the most natural thing in the world for her.
But still.
With no telling what trials lay ahead, I couldn't afford to let someone as capable as No. 26 go. And yet part of me wanted to respect her wishes.
...What am I supposed to do?
While I wavered, unable to decide what to say, she made the choice for me.
｢But I told them no.｣
[Zz (What?)]
｢I have a family I need to protect too.｣
No. 26 stretched out a single tentacle and gently patted my head.
The emotions she held came through vividly where our bodies touched. Just as large a place as she occupied in my heart, she cherished us just as deeply.
｢Big Baby grows fast and is stronger than me, but Big Baby is still a baby. So I have to protect you.｣
Only after hearing her honest words could I finally send back a wave full of feeling.
[Zzzz zzzzz (Same here)]
｢Mm!｣
The wave was brief, but I could proudly say that nothing about the emotion packed inside it was lacking. Understanding the earnestness of my heart, she brightened her whole body with joy.
And with that, my business in the deep sea was finished. I began preparing to head back up.
The light the Bubble Amoebas gave off was lovely to watch, but lingering here made me uneasy — I had a feeling No. 26 might insist on staying after all.
No. 26, however, seemed to have one more thing left to do.
｢Big Baby, friend's family says we should go further down.｣
[Zzzzzz zzzz zzzz (It's dangerous below this)]
Any deeper would take us to the very floor of the trench — where Dread Hydras dwelled. They were little more than prey for the Pale Mask, but that hardly made them weak.
Yet No. 26 flared her light in denial.
｢Friend left a treasure behind, so they said to take it.｣
A treasure?
What on earth could lie at the very end of this deep sea? And a Sea Demon's treasure, no less — I couldn't even guess.
Well, might as well take a look.
Perhaps something valuable had been left behind — rare equipment dropped by a creature that was practically a sub-boss. I decided to descend further with No. 26.
We pushed through the crushing water pressure, forging toward the far side of the deep, deep sea.
After we'd traveled for a long while, No. 26 came to a stop. There, drifting softly before her, was something enormous.
What is this?
Its appearance was nearly identical to No. 26's — but its size was beyond all comparison.
The breathing terror of the abyss. The devil of the sea.
The dead Sea Demon was waiting for us at the bottom of the world.