Horror Summer Vacation #3
The ruler of the oceans, Poseidon. After the age of gods ended, he'd handed most of his authority over to his children and was now enjoying a leisurely retirement.
But the sea is fickle and ever-changing. Like the ocean he ruled, Poseidon had grown bored with the long, long peace of the mortal world.
"No monsters, no tales of heroes slaying them. All we've got are these so-called hero movies—pure fakes from start to finish."
Poseidon was the father of countless monsters and heroes. He genuinely loved monsters, thrilled by stories of them terrorizing humans or getting hunted down.
"But these days' creature features? No romance in them at all."
Then, by chance, he stumbled upon Channel 666. A little underworld broadcaster showing clashes between beasts.
"Asterios! That bull of Minos!"
The half-man, half-beast—Minos's bull—shared deep ties with Poseidon. To see such a creature slain by a hero, then reborn in the underworld with even greater power, calling itself the "Beast Legion Commander"... its majesty rivaled the gods' own might.
Even the underworld execs would have a hard time subduing something like that.
It would be a disaster for the underworld, but for a monster fan like Poseidon, the future looked thrilling.
Then something even more astonishing happened. A single man boldly stood against the towering, building-sized Asterios.
Poseidon didn't know his face. But—
He quickly realized this was the man his brothers raved about: Section Chief Jo.
An unstoppable monster. And the human facing it down.
"The age of myths hasn't ended yet!"
Poseidon couldn't hide his joy. He became a major sponsor of Channel 666, pledging funds for up to Season 77 of Joey Games.
Once the Beast Legion Commander incident wrapped up, Poseidon started following Section Chief Jo's exploits in his own way. The man's life was like a storm at sea—watching it alone chased away his boredom.
Tracking him was easy enough. Soul Society was already crawling with undercover watchers posing as employees.
"A vacation?"
Word from insiders: Section Chief Jo was taking a week off. Poseidon was already bored again.
"A hero's life has no room for vacations! Section Chief Jo, you're just another mortal after all! Argh, my excitement's gone!"
He'd taken an interest on a whim and lost it just as quickly. A man as capricious as the sea itself.
But the insider's message wasn't over.
—Father, Section Chief Jo's heading to that Okeanos Beach for his vacation.
"What? That danger zone?"
Poseidon's forehead twitched like an undersea mountain range.
Okeanos Beach was the deep sea. A prison stuffed with the ocean's darkest secrets. A fortress for fugitives hiding from the sun.
If Jo had gone there—
Was it because of that thing lurking in the depths?
The one even Poseidon couldn't handle. THE THING.
What would happen if Section Chief Jo encountered it? A fear the sea's ruler could never show crept up on him.
So Poseidon rose heavily from his throne.
"I'll go myself. I want to be there before they meet. Though it might already be too late—. I have to prevent the worst."
Huff, huff—
My breath came in ragged gasps. I'd just leaped down a cliff dozens of meters high like it was a sprint, so of course my lungs were burning.
"Did I really just climb down that cliff?"
I was a madman. Had my long time in this underworld dulled my sense of self-preservation?
Still, the effort paid off. I'd found a cave—and inside it, White Melinoi.
She was picking up shells, surrounded by scattered bones that looked like shark or whale remains. A massive fish graveyard?
Why was Melinoi venerating this place? Whatever. It didn't matter. I had to get her back to goddess mode fast!
Before this uncontrollable girl caused some disaster.
"Melinoi, don't you want some of this?"
Whoosh—I pulled out my secret weapon from my pocket: ant honey candy.
Even I, a section chief, couldn't get this easily. Direct purchase only from Oinone at Pandora Market.
I dangled the candy in front of her, and White Melinoi's nostrils twitched.
Sniff sniff—she smelled it. Then she approached slowly, like taming a feral cat with treats.
"You're acting weird today, Melinoi."
Nothing like the usual her. But in Soul Society, weird stuff happening was normal. This was par for the course.
"……."
White Melinoi took the ant honey candy from my hand. She examined it from every angle.
"Try eating it."
"……."
She tilted her head. I demonstrated: opened my mouth wide, pretended to chew, closed it.
Melinoi mimicked me, opening her mouth.
And in that instant, my heart skipped a beat.
Click clack—
Her mouth was lined with sharp, shark-like teeth!
Shark-toothed Melinoi? What the hell? What was this?
Crunch crunch—
White Melinoi chomped the candy with her pointed teeth. Did it taste good? She came closer, holding out her palm.
More, please.
Right then.
"What are you doing here?"
Someone approached the cave. That soft voice—Lady Melinoë's.
What? Melinoë was already here.
Soon, Lady Melinoë appeared at the cave entrance.
"Get away from that thing. Now."
She was frowning, visibly angry.
"Pardon? Get away? From this nymph?"
Seeing Melinoë and Melinoi coexist wasn't new. It happened on her birthday.
So this must be the same—. But Lady Melinoë spoke in an unusually cold tone.
"Nymph? That's no nymph. It's just something vicious mimicking one. Come here slowly. Don't provoke it."
Chills ran down my spine.
Not a nymph? Then not Melinoi either? What was going on?
As confusion hit, White Melinoi bolted—whoosh—deeper into the cave.
Into the pitch-black depths, like the throat of some massive beast.
Only then did the goddess sigh in relief.
"That thing was luring you in to eat you."
Eat me? The thought alone made me shudder.
And those bone piles? Not a graveyard—leftovers from meals. Chomped up with those shark teeth.
"But it sure looked like a nymph."
Not just any—Melinoi. I hesitated to fully trust the goddess when she explained.
"The vicious things in this world don't care about appearances. Mimicking something familiar and friendly to lure in the innocent? Piece of cake."
In other words—
Something imitating Melinoi's form.
That's what she meant?
"This is where the deep sea meets the land of the dead. Nothing that emerges would be surprising. So don't wander alone anymore. Let's head back to everyone."
"Brother, it might be an abyssal mega-beast."
Crowzer knew a lot. I told him what happened, and he nailed it immediately.
"There's a tale like that. In the ocean depths, even King Poseidon fears a terrifying creature. A monster so horrifying it makes your legs go weak just looking at it…."
Siren Rilke, sunbathing with her fins out, chimed in.
"Even we sirens know the story well. Best avoid Okeanos Beach. Especially when diving deep."
Whatever it was, something vicious lurked near this beach. And I'd dragged everyone here for vacation?
"Lady Alecto, what should we do?"
"Cancel the vacation…?"
The group murmured uneasily. Lounging on a beach where something devoured whales and sharks down to bones? Not easy.
And that monster? It was the forelock of the god of opportunity for me.
Perfect!
If even a small incident happened, it'd be my fault for bringing them.
"Everyone, rest easy. I'll handle that mystery monster myself. Just enjoy your vacation without worry!"
"Oho! Jo, you'll do it?"
"Section Chief Jo! I, Hector, acknowledge your heroism!"
Muhahaha—
Acknowledgment my ass! Facing the Beast Legion Commander showed me how utterly ordinary and powerless I was. Me against a deep-sea horror that scared even gods? No chance.
So I'd boast big, then fail spectacularly and disappoint everyone.
A flawless plan. Similar ones had failed before, but this felt different.
A man-eating mimic monster? Way beyond my pay grade.
"From now on, move in groups of at least two or three! It'll be a hassle, but bear with it until I take down the beast!"
Clap clap—
Alecto clapped, and everyone nodded. We had to watch for mimics blending in.
Then a brilliant idea struck: sow some chaos?
"That monster's already hiding among us."
"What? Jo, for real?"
"Yes. It's sneaky, but I've spotted it. Mimicking one of us. And that monster is—"
"Section Chief Jo! Is it me? I've suspected myself every morning in the mirror! Maybe even I didn't notice the switch, but you did!"
Crowzer interrupted noisily. I ignored him and pointed.
Snap—
My finger aimed at Lady Melinoë, in her white dress, sipping juice under a parasol.
"You! Reveal your true form!"
"Gasp!"
"Whaaat—."
Everyone gasped. Accusing Soul Society's princess of being a monster? Pure insanity.
Lady Melinoë would hate the suspicion. Her favor toward me would plummet.
Sure enough, she scowled fiercely.
"…How did you notice?"
How? Well—wait. What?
Notice? Her mouth stretched sideways unnaturally—
Revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth. Horrific enough to rip throats and crunch bones!
"Section Chief Jo found the monster!"
"This Crowzer always believed in his brother!"