The Moonless Lake, Part 3
Catching the scent of blood, the beast's head surged above the surface, whipped into a frenzy.
Between the tentacles splayed out like whiskers, the beast's eyes, covered in a cloudy membrane, glinted.
A split second.
The energy drawn up from my toes reached my fingertips, and the red light gathered at the tip of the harpoon shot forward in a straight line.
I had simply thrown the harpoon with all my might.
The energy gathered in the harpoon whipped up a gale, tearing across the water's surface.
Thud.
A streak of energy pierced the torso of the serpent beast as it arched its body to plunge back into the water.
A bizarre shriek echoed across the area, tearing at my eardrums.
But,
It's a failure.
Although it had pierced precisely where the heart should be, the serpent beast did not stop moving.
Kicking up a massive spray of water as it retreated beneath the surface, the serpent beast began to writhe and twist its entire body in agony.
Rattle-rattle-rattle!
The chains piled on the deck made a racket as they were dragged out at a frantic pace.
Under the shock, the small fishing boat lurched, and then—
Clang!
The tautly pulled chain tilted along with the writhing of the serpent beast.
Unable to withstand the force, the hull began to sink.
Water flooded the deck, and the boat capsized.
In the meantime, I drew out fresh energy and clung desperately to the chain.
The moment I inhaled deeply into the depths of my lungs, my vision suddenly went out, and darkness dyed my surroundings.
"..."
Inside the lake.
I could see the serpent beast thrashing in all directions, trying to pull out the harpoon lodged in the middle of its torso.
Whoosh. Whoosh. As my vision spun, I concentrated all my strength into both arms to withstand the raging currents.
After some time had passed like that,
The serpent beast, which had been writhing in flesh-tearing agony, stopped moving.
Was it dead?
The chain, now somewhat slack, swayed in the water.
...It's looking for the cause.
In the darkness, six pairs of pale eyes traced the foreign object lodged in its body.
The beast's bodily fluids rose like smoke.
Beside it, a faint, dying red line caught my eye.
The figure of the unconscious old man came into view.
I immediately pulled on the chain and moved toward the old man.
Perhaps I had provoked it in the process, for the serpent beast twitched and shrieked.
The beast's shadow rushed forward.
Its head, filled with rage, approached at high speed.
Its tentacles, fluttering like a mane, and its pointed snout shot toward me like arrows.
Just a little more.
A little more.
Whoosh.
Got him.
I barely managed to let go of the chain and swam with all my might.
Grabbing the old man's body, which seemed to float in midair, I turned upward.
Due to the dense downpour, the surface of the water viewed from below looked as if it were boiling.
Having missed its prey, the massive body of the serpent beast writhed and let out a bizarre shriek.
The beast's scream, in which the rage steeped in pain could be felt directly.
Although the scream mixed with malice stabbed at my entire body, I couldn't delay any longer.
"Pah!"
After exhaling the hot breath I had been holding, I gasped for air and scanned my surroundings.
And then I realized something was wrong.
...The chain was nowhere to be seen.
The slackened chain stretched down into the darkness along the deep depths.
It was a miscalculation to think that the beast, having been pierced through its body, would try to flee by any means.
Perhaps because it had grown massive without any rivals to compete with for survival.
Instead, it was aggressively closing the distance.
On the surface of the water, where there was nowhere to stand.
Floating like an isolated island, holding onto the unconscious old man with one arm.
I had to choose.
The wound pierced by the harpoon would close up before long.
And then it would hide in the depths where humans couldn't reach, constantly looking for an opportunity to pull the harpoon out.
"..."
By then, a long time would have surely passed.
If that happened, everything would be over.
Churrrrrr!
I heard the sound of the massive body bound by the chain thrashing and splitting the waves.
The pouring rain washed over its surface, revealing its full form, and it collapsed straight toward the old man and me.
A sweeping wave.
I gritted my teeth and swam to get away from it.
Crash!
The torrential rain, clumped into a single mass, crashed over my head along with the spray.
And...
The chain, swung along the trajectory of the serpent beast, struck my back directly.
A crushing sound from within, a pain as if my body were being torn in half, made my vision flash.
A sharp, paralyzing sensation shot down my spine and pierced the tips of my toes.
My senses...
Were gone. Disappeared. Severed. Amputated. Disconnected. I barely managed to stay conscious through the heavy weight of the old man pressing down on my shoulder and the sensation of the flesh below my ribs being swung around.
It's nothing.
It had to be nothing.
I gritted my teeth and wrapped all the energy I could muster around the struck area.
At the same time, I grabbed the chain that was slowly falling downward and barely managed to hang on.
The cold metal surface swayed up and down, chewing away at my waterlogged palms.
...
Nausea welled up.
Along with the flesh-tearing pain in my palms, the sensations of my entire body returned.
The pain that flooded in.
A dull pain, like a blunt knife scraping against my joints, could not be relieved no matter how much I twisted my body.
Once again, a massive shadow surged beneath the surface.
"Close your eyes!"
I heard a familiar voice.
A burst of pure white light enveloped the surroundings.
In a split second,
as if time had stopped, the shapes of the falling raindrops were fully revealed, but soon darkness rushed back in, and a clamorous shriek weighed heavily on the air.
"—!!"
The serpent beast twisted its long, massive body, writhing in agony.
"Your hand! Grab my hand first!"
Piercing through the torrential rain, a small boat approached us.
A fishing boat, slick with dirty grime, lurched violently.
Rosia, barely hanging onto it, was reaching her hand out to me.
"..."
And an old woman, one of her eyes turned completely white, stared blankly at the scene.
"Don't ever look back!"
Behind my back, another intense light flashed.
Along with a splashing sound, the beast's shriek twisted higher and more bizarrely.
"Take him!"
As I threw the old man's body onto the boat with all my might, Rosia, startled by the sight, reflexively pulled him up.
Along with a noisy clatter, a small, solid light shot toward the sky.
It seemed as if no amount of darkness could obscure its brilliant glow.
And the chain pulled taut once more.
The blinded serpent beast, resisting violently, began to flee back down into the depths.
I moved my hands bit by bit, moving forward, forward.
The pale sword I finally drew was dyed in red light.
I simply thrust it forward.
Thup.
Along with a light resistance of piercing a thin membrane, the blade sank into the massive torso.
And a beat later, the beast's bodily fluids burst out.
"—!!!"
The shriek made my head feel like it was splitting.
But I tenaciously twisted the hilt, tearing through the soft flesh.
Its tentacles trembled, then soon went limp, drifting with the current.
I quickly retrieved the sword lodged in the beast's body, drew out fresh energy, and clung to the chain.
"Kamil! Are you okay?"
As I rose above the surface, Rosia came into view.
I shouted urgently at Rosia, who was leaning far over and reaching out her arm as if to pull me up immediately.
"Get as far away from here as possible!"
"...What?"
The pouring rain. The dark clouds covering the sky.
Between them, a massive figure rose rapidly.
No one dared to speak.
All we could do was run away with all our might.
"...!"
Instantly understanding my meaning, the old woman grabbed the sail with hurried hands and turned the rudder.
Behind the sharply turning fishing boat, a wave easily several meters high crashed down along with an explosion.
But it was merely a final struggle.
I cut through the water and moved forward quickly to ensure I cut off its breath.
The moment of beast fishing had finally arrived.
Thus, we reached the waterway.
Against the fiercely rushing river, a bridge began to come into view.
Having arrived at some point, Gyal, brushing back his soaking wet long hair, was pulling on the chain.
No questions like what on earth was going on or what we were doing were exchanged.
I stood in front of him and began to pull the chain with all my strength.
I could feel the struggling movements of the serpent beast through my fingertips.
Even with a harpoon lodged in its body and its innards mangled, pulling it felt as daunting as trying to drag a wall.
Nevertheless, bit by bit, the chain piled up behind us.
Except for Rosia, who arrived at some point and almost got swept away by the current while coming down to the waterway, the fishing went smoothly. After a long, arduous struggle, a black mass flopped and revealed itself above the water in the distance.
"Over there... that..."
Along with Rosia's heavy, panting voice filled with shock, the tail of the serpent beast thrashed.
With the sound of the relatively shallow river water bursting, the embankment collapsed, and the beast, pinned under a pile of stones, twisted its body irritably.
"Uh, uh-oh...!"
From the recoil, the chain was dragged back out.
My upper body slowly tilted forward as tension shot up my spine.
Just a little, just a little more.
"Rosia! Untie the rope bound to the bridge!"
"What...?"
"Hurry!"
Rosia, who had been groaning as she clung to the chain, hesitated before letting go.
She stared at the motionless chain with a strange look, then squeezed her eyes shut and untied the loop bound to the pillar.
Clank!
Along with the sound of metal clashing, the bound bundle of chains fell to the ground.
Rosia let out a short shriek in surprise, but I paid it no mind and directed her on what to do next.
"Pull it as tight as possible and tie it!"
"H-how?"
"Exactly how it was tied before!"
A split second that felt like an eternity.
Amidst the sound of the rain, a clattering noise repeated a few times, and then Rosia shouted.
"I tied it!"
"Gyal! Let go!"
One.
Two.
Three.
Counting in my head, I slowly released my grip on the chain.
The chain, which had been sliding away bit by bit, suddenly slipped, but before going far, it locked up stiffly with a sharp sound.
Creak.
The pillar supporting the bridge let out a creaking sound, then soon fell silent.
I didn't know how long it would hold.
I ran toward the serpent beast once more, the tip of my sword glowing.
The boundary where the waterway and the lake met.
Across that boundary, the serpent beast's body was draped halfway.
You want to hold out until the end?
Go ahead and try, if you can.
The beast's tail, stretched long over the ground, thrashed frantically, destroying everything it touched.
Trees, banks, embankments...
I approached the spot where the serpent beast's torso was exposed above the water, keeping just out of reach of its tail.
Right below where the harpoon was lodged.
Its belly.
I swung my sword with all my might.
"—!!"
A shriek far more bizarre than any I had heard so far echoed through the village.
From left to right.
A long horizontal line was carved, and red bodily fluids began to leak out.
As I slashed diagonally with the red-hot sword once more, the cut area ruptured, spewing dark red lumps and fluids.
Steam rose from the beast's innards, which were pelted by the rain.
As the fluids were washed away, eggs numerous enough to fill the waterway were revealed.
"—!!"
Another distorted shriek escaped the beast's throat.
As the serpent beast's movements visibly slowed, I immediately grabbed the chain, pulled it back, and shouted to Gyal.
"Now!"
Bit by bit.
But pulling the chain was much easier than before.
Having suffered such a deep wound, it would be difficult for it to resist any longer.
Hearing the beast's cries, the villagers began to gather near the waterway one by one.
I worried that the villagers, possessed by the serpent beast, might rush us, but none of them entered the waterway.
Among them, a few could be seen retching at the gruesome sight of the collapsed serpent beast.
Was it because the power of the hallucination had weakened?
It was then.
Crack.
That the shells of the spilled eggs began to crack.