155 – Joey, Let's Reel in the Big One #3
“Chairman! The fishing rod is shaking again!”
Even after hearing his new secretary L's report, Chairman Hades couldn't relax.
Splash-!
Finally, a 7-meter-class whale was dragged to the riverbank.
“Congratulations! You've caught a ghost whale this time, Chairman!”
“Tch, shut it. That's not what's important right now.”
L couldn't understand. They were in a fishing tournament—shouldn't fishing be the priority?
But L's father was the head of the mega-corporation Heaven Company. No one knew better than him how deep and unpredictable the minds of conglomerate leaders could be.
'There must be some grand plan I can't grasp with my dull brain.'
Chairman Hades was thinking the same thing.
'That Joey punk acts all confident, betting against me, but I've never seen him even thread a single bait on his line.'
Joey's Entertainment Department bucket was empty—not a single small loach inside. And there were only half a day left in the tournament.
'He's got something up his sleeve.'
'Joey isn't the type to spout empty nonsense.'
'There has to be a scheme.'
To Hades, Executive Director Joey was a sinister, scheming human. The kind who'd stop at nothing to steal away his daughter Melinoë.
'Joey, that dopamine-addicted maniac obsessed with winning bets, isn't the type to hand victory to someone else so easily.'
There had to be some nefarious plot. And once that thought took hold—
Everything started looking suspicious.
“Nymphbi-gi, Wild Splashing Frenzy!”
“Nymphbi-gi, Mass Fish-Grabbing Chaos!”
Even the nymphs wildly scooping up fish looked fishy.
And his daughter Melinoë sitting under a parasol, reading a book? Suspicious as hell.
'Why's she reading a book during a fishing tournament?'
'She's my daughter, but she looks incredibly shady right now.'
“Dear, how about pirarucu spicy stew for dinner? Or maybe with that whale we just caught?”
Even his wife, who kept suggesting spicy stew, seemed dubious. Her quick return from her parents' house. Her constant kimchi-making with hell cacti—
'Maybe that was all part of Joey's scheme.'
It all fit together perfectly once he thought about it. Just how far did Joey's plot extend? Maybe global warming. Maybe even the dinosaurs' mass extinction.
Whatever it was, Chairman Hades was certain Joey had ulterior motives. But what were they?
Then, a sudden realization hit him.
'No way—is he after that…!?'
The empty basket—
—And Joey, doing absolutely nothing.
That thought made a lightbulb flash in Hades's mind.
“...I've been had. Tricked! This isn't the time to be slacking off!”
“Huh? Dear, tricked by what?”
Chairman Hades hurriedly reeled in his rod. At that, executive announcer Hypnos narrowed his sleepy eyes slightly and shouted into the mic.
Static crackle, fizzle-.
The Chairman reeled in his rod, they said. Why?
I glanced at the Chairman's water tank.
A massive aquarium. Already teeming with several big fish.
'The Chairman's victory was a foregone conclusion.'
The nymph team in 2nd and the sales team in 3rd hadn't caught anything to top his 7-meter whale. Their biggest were 5 meters and 4 meters, max.
—Rrrumble…
Then, my eyes caught a trembling blue eel in the tank.
Mirdos. This one's destined for the Chairman's spicy stew, huh.
'The world's always been survival of the fittest, eat or be eaten.'
The winner steps on everyone else to survive. There's only one chair, but a crowd of people. Can't be helped.
I pulled the 'Star Conch' from my pocket. Someone had left it by my bedside.
It was pretty—truly worthy of its starry name.
—Rrrumble…
The massive blue eel Mirdos was the same. Majestic form, scales gleaming blue—anyone would covet it.
And that's when the thought struck me.
The prize for the winner: the prized heavenly big fish—Mirdos.
What if I accidentally dropped it into the river and lost it?
The event organizers failing to manage the prize—
Just imagining it was thrilling.
“Hedone.”
“Director, why'd you call?”
“This tank. Think you can smash it?”
“Huh? Smash the tank?”
Hedone tilted her head, baffled. I leaned in and whispered.
“I've got a plan. When have I ever been wrong?”
“Ooooooh!”
Hedone clenched her fist tight—then punched the tank's glass.
Crack-! The ultra-reinforced tank for extreme pressure split open.
Then—crash!—it shattered with a massive splash.
Whoosh-!
The tank exploded in seconds, water pouring out. Blue eel Mirdos rode the torrent straight into the river.
Eel Mirdos dunked into the river, then poked its upper body out and looked at me.
Bowing its head—almost like a polite greeting.
Thanks for setting me free.
'Idiot. I didn't free you. You're freeing me.'
Failing to guard the winner's prize. If everyone pinned the blame on me—
It wouldn't end with just stepping down as executive. I'd be swept away by the torrent of outrage and booted back to the surface.
'Gotta use your head, after all.'
'Way more impactful than just coming in last.'
I casually dropped the 'Star Conch' onto the ground nearby.
The anxiety weighing on me all day felt tossed away with it—my heart lighter.
'It's over.'
That's when Crowzer's eyes lit up.
“Whoa! If you're tossing that conch, could you give it to me? Blow into it like this, and it makes an amazing tone!”
Whiiiiiist-!
The star conch whistled like an ocarina from Crowzer's mouth, clear and ethereal.
But in that instant, everyone froze.
“Hold up.”
“Whoa, shit… Did you feel that just now, Hassan?”
—Woof woof…!
“Something's… coming.”
“Moros. Put the rod away!”
Bubble bubble boil-.
The river began to churn. The next moment—splash!—a massive spray erupted as something rose from the depths.
—Grrrrr.
It felt like a mountain had instantly appeared in the river.
The colossal shape resembled a fish.
“It's Leviathan!!!”
Alecto screamed in horror. That snapped me alert too.
Leviathan? Isn't that a massive sea monster?
But from what I knew, it was from a different world altogether?
Wasn't Leviathan from the Heaven Company side?
Soon, Moros tucked away his hell puppy and explained.
“When Prince Zagreus ran away, the chaos and rifts let all sorts of things that shouldn't be in Soul Society slip in. That's one of them.”
What the—
Again with Prince Zagreus. Look at that mountain-sized thing. The idea of it lurking in the underworld river gave me chills.
“W-Why's it staring at me?”
Terrified Crowzer stammered.
“Did my flute skills summon this monster?!”
Creeeeak-!
Leviathan gaped its hellgate maw wide.
It started sucking in water—whirlpools formed around us, lightning cracked, total chaos.
That's when the Chairman bellowed.
“Director Joey! So that's what you were after—Leviathan! You've been holding back all this time just to catch it! But the one reeling it in is me!”
What the hell?!
But… hearing it, it made sense.
Catching a mountain-sized fish like that? Victory guaranteed.
I had to avoid it at all costs!
“Alright! Leave it to me, Director Joey!”
Suddenly Hedone rolled up her sleeves.
She cast the rod hard—the tinkling bobber slipped right into Leviathan's mouth.
“Gotcha!”
The line went taut.
Creak-!
Hedone's thighs screamed instantly. Her stockings ripped—shrrrip!
“Heave-ho!”
Hedone kicked off her slippers, planted her feet firm.
Grrrrrind-!
Thus began the tug-of-war: Hedone vs. Leviathan.
'What?'
'What the actual fuck?'
Hedone was a surplus goddess rivaling demon legion commanders in strength, so sure, she could match Leviathan.
But that sparkly jeweled bobber and rod holding up in this arm-wrestle? Insane.
I frantically checked my terminal for the bobber and rod Hedone bought.
Super-Durable Craftsmanship
Effects: Withstands Extreme Pressure and Tension
Unbreakable Alloy
Effects: Infinite Tensile Strength
Why'd they make it this tough?! No wonder it was so pricey.
“Raaagh!!!”
Screeeeech-!
The rod wailed. Even more shocking: the mythical mega-monster Leviathan was slowly being dragged toward land.
“I do pointless efforts every damn day! To catch Director Joey! I won't flop like against that demon legion commander agaaaain!!!”
Splash-!
As the behemoth dragged closer, the river's currents warped—flooding the land in seconds.
Whoosh-!
Fierce waves erased the riverbank boundary instantly.
“Hiiik…! This Kiris is gonna get swept away…!”
“This Carnoy doesn't get it, but Kiris is a sea nymph who lived in the ocean…! Can't you at least swim…!?”
“This Kiris can't swim…!”
Instant pandemonium. Injuries and missing people galore incoming.
'Chaos is good, but if it blows up too big, firing me might not cut it!'
I clutched my head.
The next moment—
“L-Look at that!”
Crowzer pointed from the rushing waters.
Something with blue scales rode the rapids fast, rescuing nymphs and people.
—Rrrumble!
“Blue eel Mirdos saved this Kiris…!”
“Such a nymph-friendly fish…!”
“This Storyol thinks it's no ordinary fish…!”
It saved me once when I fell in too. Does it just love rescuing the drowning?
—Rrrumble-.
Mirdos opened its mouth and cried out.
Fish started leaping everywhere.
They hauled people to safety or swarmed Leviathan.
—Grrraaahhh-.
Under the fish assault and Hedone's brute force, Leviathan finally—
“Hyaah—!!!”
Splash-!
Was yanked from the water and launched into the sky.