Chapter 15. Voyage
Chapter 15. Voyage
September 30th.
The date was displayed on the electronic clock on the ship.
It was the first time since the Advent that I knew the proper date.
The atmosphere at Motobu Port, where they were rushing to prepare for departure, was beyond busy; it was filled with a fervor bordering on madness.
The men were drenched in sweat as they wound chains and pulled ropes.
The monster who had blown their absolute leader, Dogo, into the sea.
The blind terror of wanting to get rid of that Blue Lightning Slaughterer from this island even one second faster was making their hands and feet move abnormally fast.
I leaned against the railing of the massive passenger ship's deck and quietly looked down at them as they moved busily.
Just then, the sound of footsteps, terrified and trembling, approached behind me.
"U-um... Excuse me... Hello...."
It was a familiar native language.
I turned my head slightly to glance at them, and five or six men and women wearing shabby outdoor windbreakers were standing there, looking cautious.
When I just stared at them without any reaction, the man in the lead swallowed hard and desperately continued speaking.
"W-we are Koreans who came here on a package tour to Japan, but got stranded because the world suddenly turned out like this. If... if it's not too much trouble, we were wondering if we could... dare to ask if we could board this ship heading to Korea with you...."
"Ah, sure. That's fine."
As soon as the short permission was given, uncontrollable joy and tears of salvation spread across their faces.
"Thank you...! Thank you so much, we will never forget this kindness for the rest of our lives! We managed to run all the way to the port, but we couldn't even bring ourselves to say we wanted to go to Korea amidst those scary Japanese rioters, just watching them...! You really are our savior!"
"Don't mention it. Are you all family?"
"Ah, these people here are people I met while on the package tour with Duna Tour... Everyone, say hello! They're letting us board!"
Listening to their sobbing and their desperate expressions of gratitude as they bowed repeatedly, a futile question suddenly crossed my mind: what had happened to the other Koreans on this island?
'Let's just think about myself for now. Just me. Because every second counts....'
Before long, men who appeared to be the captain and crew, wearing crisp, starched uniforms that they must have kept stored away somewhere, approached cautiously while watching me.
"Ah, hello. My name is Suzuki Yota, the captain at the helm of this passenger ship. The engine room inspection and refueling are almost complete, so it seems we can depart soon."
I nodded lightly and offered a handshake.
The captain flinched in surprise, then bowed at a 90-degree angle and respectfully grasped my hand with both of his trembling hands.
"I-it is an honor! I will safely take you to your destination!"
"Don't be nervous. As long as you drive properly, I won't harm you no matter what happens."
They left as if fleeing, leaving behind one young female crew member and telling me to let them know if anything happened.
Her face was pitifully pale, to the point where I couldn't tell if it was makeup or if she was just terrified.
The massive passenger ship let out a heavy thrumming sound and smoothly departed from the pier at Motobu Port.
The gigantic passenger ship, nearing 10,000 tons, cut through the waves of the blue sea mercilessly and advanced toward the motherland in the north.
Inside the wheelhouse, the captain and the navigator, still pale as a sheet, were gripping the wheel with trembling hands.
The destination was Incheon Port, the gateway to Seoul.
The captain broke into a cold sweat, saying he was a novice who had never sailed the route to Incheon before, but perhaps due to the instinctive desire to live, he didn't dare utter weak nonsense like "I can't go because I don't know the route."
Because when humans are placed under the rule of absolute terror rather than reason, they tend to become more productive and cooperative than ever.
"What's the speed of this thing?"
I suddenly became curious and asked the pale crew member who had been waiting behind me, frozen in place.
"T-twenty knots... so about 40 kilometers per hour. At this rate, it will take about two days to reach Incheon."
Two days.
It was a long time if you considered it long, and a short time if you considered it short.
At least during that time, I could be at ease in the middle of the ocean, where there were no monsters or people.
For the first time in a long while, I was guaranteed absolute safety, without having to worry about someone stabbing me in the heart from behind.
With both arms resting on the side railing of the deck, I looked at Okinawa, which was now just a dot and barely visible.
Before I knew it, Han-byeol had quietly approached and stood next to me.
Her thin hair fluttered pleasantly in the salty night breeze.
The child, too, was relaxing the tension in her face, which had been stiff for days, and exhaling a comfortable breath for the first time.
Come to think of it, the sea I saw with So-hee was this color too.
The day I gained my ability, right before the beam of light fell.
A corner of my heart ached, but now I could endure it.
The period when I would collapse and fall apart like I was going crazy just by thinking about it had passed.
Now, I could breathe even while holding onto that memory.
"We're really going to Korea."
"...Yeah, we are."
The visit to Japan, originally planned as a light 3-day, 2-night healing trip, had unavoidably turned into a one-month survival tour that stained the whole world with blood.
'Come to think of it, I just disappeared without even submitting a request for annual leave or vacation to the company... I wonder if I've been fired for disciplinary reasons.'
My psychological state was so cozy and comfortably relaxed that such an idle and absurd thought crossed my mind.
Now, it was time to go home.
It was at that very moment.
Wooooong—
The entire floor of the heavy passenger ship tilted and twisted as if it had encountered an earthquake.
From beneath the pitch-black water under the passenger ship, a massive, jet-black shadow the size of a building surged up violently.
It was a monster that must have originally been a giant squid-type mollusk swimming in the sea.
Over its house-sized body, dozens of massive, slimy tentacles, twisted tightly like steel ropes, swung like whips to tear the passenger ship's deck to shreds.
A sticky and disgusting fishy smell from the deep sea vibrated through the air.
"Aaaargh! It's a monster! It's a sea monster!"
In an instant, the crew in the wheelhouse and on the deck fell into a panic and screamed.
Inside this narrow ship with nowhere to run, they staggered around like rats, clamoring to find a way to live.
But where on earth were they going to run to on a passenger ship surrounded by sea on all sides?
Watching that pathetic commotion, I instead twisted the corners of my lips and let out a scoff.
'As expected, grilled squid is a must for a trip.'
The guy living in the water chose the wrong opponent.
Zzzzt— Pzzzzzt—!
I raised my right hand and aimed at the swarm of giant, thrashing tentacles.
Because the seawater filling all sides was the best medium for conducting electricity perfectly and amazingly.
Kwarurung— Bang—!!!
The blue electric shock discharged from my fingertips pierced through the atmosphere and the water surface, striking its wet tentacles directly.
The current rode the conductivity of the water and spread at the speed of light, roasting the monster's nervous system and heart like barbecue in a split second.
The sea monster couldn't even secure a moment to escape underwater, and its internal organs instantly burned white.
The massively bloated carcass floated up to the surface of the water.
A savory yet fishy smell of burnt squid began to vibrate in all directions.
"Oppa! There's more coming from behind too!"
The guy wasn't a single entity.
Using the smell of the dead one's blood as a signal flare, dozens of massive shadows surged up from beneath the dark blue water on all sides.
It was a swarm.
They had designated the massive passenger ship as prey to swallow whole and were charging in all at once.
If they rammed the ship with those massive bodies, we might end up in the water, so I had to intercept them before they arrived.
"Han-byeol, hold onto the pillar in the corner and hang on. Take care of the eonni next to you too."
I steadied myself and lightly spread both hands wide.
And I poured the blue lightning boiling inside my body toward the entire sea like a waterfall.
Kwagwagwagwagwagwang—!!!
The entire surface of the sea flashed with a bright blue lightning that seemed like it would blind the eyes.
All the monsters lurking in the water were electrocuted and burned in real-time.
It was a perfect slaughter where not a single one survived.
The entire vast fuse that was the sea had synchronized with the magic power at my fingertips, becoming my most powerful ally.
When the terrifying voltage discharge of about 10 seconds stopped, the carcasses of dozens of giant sea monsters that had tried to swallow the ship were floating on the water surface around the passenger ship, their white bellies turned up.
The vibrating smell of burnt squid stung my nose, but at least all the disaster sources threatening the ship's safety had been cleanly cleaned up.
[ Level has increased. ]
I was more worried about the ship right now than the level.
I cleared the notification appearing in front of me with my hand and went to the wheelhouse to ask the captain, and fortunately, the ship was safe.
I was worried it might break if the current flowed through it, but he said that since the ship was made of iron, it acted like a giant lightning rod, sending all the current into the sea, so it was safe.
It was the moment it was proven that attacking me in the sea was no different from suicide.
It was cleaned up so neatly without any risk factors that the fight with Dogo felt like a lie.
This is what we call a bad matchup, you squids.
"...You're really a cheat in the sea. Even though you struggled so much against that person named Dogo."
Han-byeol muttered, half in admiration and half teasing.
"That's what a matchup is. It's the same power, but it's the difference between heaven and earth depending on who the opponent is. That's why you shouldn't let your guard down."
I replied, looking indifferently at the starboard railing where the iron plate was hideously dented from the blow of the first squid that had come up earlier.
And the moment I witnessed the traces of that destruction, an unpleasant intuition suddenly struck my brain.
The fact that these monsters were appearing in the sea meant that humanity could no longer travel these sea routes.
Because fishing boats, cargo ships, and large cruise ships alike would all become excellent meals for these sea monsters without exception.
When my thoughts reached that point, a chill ran down my spine.
Korea is a country lacking in resources.
It was something I heard until my ears wore out when I was in school: that we rely on imports for most of our raw materials, so we have to save energy.
Not only that, it's a country that doesn't produce a single drop of oil and relies on imports for a significant portion of even basic food.
And 99% of those imported goods come in via sea routes, not by plane—that is, through ports on super-large ships.
But what if that sea route, which is like a lifeline, is completely cut off?
It was obvious why there were no signs of supply lines resuming even now, more than a month after the incident occurred.
Fear.
The strong will desperately monopolize food to build fortresses, and the weak will become slaves, mortgaging even their souls to receive a handful of rations.
Surely there must still be some food and resources left, but the fear caused by anxiety about the future denies that reality.
It's already a world of survival of the fittest where people kill each other.
What if, on top of that, there's a situation where people are holding others by the throat with 'food' and 'resources'?
The entire city might have already sunk into a hellish abyss of despair, far deeper and more distant than Okinawa, becoming a complete wasteland where humans can no longer live.
It was a too-obvious future that anyone with basic education could think of.
It was self-evident that a war to stockpile food was already in full swing.
My heart ached because I couldn't even fathom what ugly state the city I used to live in had become.
It was fear.
The fear that when I finally broke through hell and reached Seoul, nothing would be left.
'...I must hurry as soon as I arrive.'
If Yu-hyeon, or anyone I know, is alive, they must surely be fighting a desperate survival struggle in the middle of that hellscape.
Kim Yu-hyeon. They say we were both treated as troublemakers in high school, but he was a guy with a kind nature who grew up nicely in a wealthy family.
'It was just a trivial rebellion of a well-fed young master.'
I still couldn't understand why such a refined kid ended up in a dump of a school like mine and became my soulmate.
How on earth could that harmless and kind guy be holding out in an Asura realm where people tear each other apart over food?
I had to go even one day faster. I had to arrive even one minute, one second faster and confirm their survival with my own two eyes.
And I had to do the best action I could. Because running away wouldn't change anything.
The ship silently cut through the waves and advanced. Under the ash-colored sky, we were getting closer and closer to Korea. To the homeland I had to face, whether I liked it or not.
"Oppa, what are you thinking about? Your expression is really scary."
Han-byeol tilted her head, gently holding onto my sleeve. She seemed worried because my expression looked quite serious.
"...Thinking that the situation in Korea might be very bad. So I'll have to move quickly when we arrive."
"Will the situation be similar to Okinawa...?"
Han-byeol asked, tilting her head.
"Seoul has a lot of people. Ten million, and if you add Gyeonggi-do or Incheon, it's well over 20 million. How much food do you think these people consume in a day?"
"Uh... a lot, right...? Ah...!"
As expected of a smart kid, she seemed to understand to some extent even with just a little explanation.
It was cute that she was frowning with the same serious expression as me next to me.
"Forget it. Worrying about it now won't change anything."
I ruffled Han-byeol's hair.
We silently looked beyond the horizon, facing the night breeze with much softer expressions.
The passenger ship moved toward Korea like that.