Chapter 74
The torn upper body burst through the water and flew into the air. Blood dripped down like rain, and Ian, instantly soaked crimson, wiped his face and fixed his eyes on the shape of whatever was flying away.
“…….”
It was an anglerfish. A human upper body with a massive anglerfish head attached to it shot upward against gravity, spraying blood everywhere. A roar that seemed to shake heaven and earth burst from the creature’s gaping maw.
[Ooooooh!!]
[Be silent.]
At that moment, black spikes shot up from beneath the sea, pierced the anglerfish’s upper body, and dragged it back down into the water. With a splash, spray erupted everywhere, and the pirates who had not yet disembarked from the ship hurriedly cut the hooks and fled.
[It’s a monster showdown! Everyone bail, damn it!]
[Fuck! Is it a kraken?!]
[They’re worse than that! Raise the anchor, now!]
Rattle-rattle-rattle!
The anchor they had dropped from the pirate ship was hauled up with a clatter. The folded sails unfurled, and the black pirate flag flapped in the wind.
But they couldn’t flee. Red eyes blooming over the sea moved like piranhas and devoured the pirate ship and the pirates who had boarded it in an instant. They didn’t last even a second before turning to dust and vanishing.
“……Unbelievable. Those guys weren’t that weak.”
Iseoa, also drenched in blood like Ian, muttered. Ian didn’t answer her and instead tightened his grip on the grimoire, glaring down at the water below.
There was nothing to see. Only the eyes blooming over the black seawater were visible. There was no way to tell what was happening down below.
Still, one thing was certain.
[Aaaaaaagh!!!]
The Producer was slaughtering the Outer God’s anchor.
[Only dogs that can’t bite bark.]
Sshhh……!
Every time the sea convulsed, blood and organs sprayed in all directions. Horrific screams, in stark contrast to the Producer’s low voice, made the air vibrate, and the small anglerfish drawn in by the sound came swarming from all around.
It was meaningless. The moment they appeared, they were turned into chunks of meat and sunk into the sea. There was no way to know what had killed them. Their eyes merely shifted, and their limbs and upper bodies disintegrated without warning.
An unexplained death.
That was their cause of death. Ian let out a dry chuckle and brushed back his blood-soaked hair.
“Maybe because it’s the sea, but the potential feels even higher.”
[Indeed.]
The Producer answered Ian’s mutter. His voice echoed from deep beneath the sea.
[The sea here is a far less refined place than the Outer Sea, but it is still the sea. I can move much more freely here than on land.]
“...Are other creatures the same?”
[Yes.]
Riiip!!
One of the anglerfish’s arms was torn off and flew through the air. The arm, lodged right at the very end of the cruise ship, twitched for a moment before going limp.
[So if you ever get the chance to fight at sea, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to let them loose. They’d probably be thrilled and rampage around.]
“...How is that good for me?”
[The sea is vast. Once you let them out, they’ll swim around on their own and eat the marine life here.]
“Couldn’t they attack humans too?”
[Mm. Unfortunately, humans other than the Envoy are no concern of mine.]
The Producer answered that way as he slowly emerged above the surface.
Beside him hung the dead anglerfish’s head, its tongue sticking out. The blood-dripping head had been grotesquely torn apart, turning into something like a flower. Red flesh formed the petals, and the brain took the place of the stamen.
[Taken care of.]
The Producer held out the anglerfish’s head to Ian as if showing it to him and said,
[If you don’t mind, may I eat this?]
“...I told you to eat it, so go ahead.”
[Thank you.]
The Producer dipped his head slightly, then opened his mouth and crunched through the anglerfish’s head. The sound of bones and flesh being crushed, along with a scream from something, rang out clearly.
[I’m sorry. The creatures I eat always scream so beautifully. It probably isn’t a pleasant sound for humans to hear.]
“...I’m fine. More importantly, is it over now?”
[Yes. I can feel the space collapsing.]
The moment the Producer said that, the sky and sea began collapsing from the edge of the horizon.
The space vanished like drifting ash. The Producer glanced back, then half-submerged himself in the sea.
[Once the collapse ends, everything that happened here will probably be resolved. The location itself will remain here, but you’ll be free from the Mystery, I suppose.]
“…….”
[Please return safely. I will be taking my leave here.]
The Producer closed all of his eyes and bent his upper body, almost as if bowing in greeting. Just as Ian was about to exhale and say he understood, the Producer spoke first.
[Lastly, I have a message from that one.]
“What?”
[They say, “I’m waiting for you.”]
Click.
With that, the Producer vanished. Ian stared quietly at the spot where he had stood, then wiped his face and sat down against the railing. Iseoa, who had been staring blankly at the Producer, slowly came over and stood beside him.
“...You, that grimoire too...?”
“…….”
“...Mm, pretend you didn’t hear that. I won’t be curious either.”
“Thanks.”
Ian gave a bitter smile, tucked the grimoire against his chest, and reached into the pocket where he usually kept his cigarettes.
But there was nothing there. Come to think of it, he had thrown away the broken cigarette case ages ago, and he had already smoked the last cigarette after the battle ended.
He’d been smoking them sparingly, so what a shame. He let out a long sigh and leaned his head back.
The collapse of space had already reached the area near the cruise ship. Like the iris-out technique often used in films, everything except the cruise ship was surrounded by pitch-black darkness, as if it had never existed in the first place.
That meant the work on the cruise ship was over as well. The aftertaste wasn’t exactly clean, but even so, it wasn’t bad. He had found out why the creatures of the Outer Sea were trying to eat him, and he had also come to realize the existence of cults and Outer Gods related to the Cthulhu Mythos. It wasn’t fair to say he’d gained nothing at all.
‘I don’t know who the one who provided the Mystery was, but... at the very least, I know it wasn’t for a good reason.’
A weirdo who made a habit of sharing Mystery with others. Of course he knew not everyone connected to mysticism was a good person, but seeing it firsthand like this still felt strangely unsettling.
It was only for a moment. Ian quickly sorted out his thoughts, then took in the darkening space and slowly closed his eyes.
There was no need to track the provider down personally. They had gotten tangled up together by accident, and he didn’t really bear them any grudge, nor did he care all that much.
Passing the information to the Administration Bureau should be enough. They’d handle it from there.
‘Once this job is done, it’d be better to rest for a while and focus on recovering.’
Ian thought that and quietly steadied his breathing.
A moment later, with the smell of the sea brushing past his nose, the space completely collapsed.
*
To put it simply, the request ended successfully. The moment the space collapsed, the Mystery shut down, and the two of them returned to reality. The two of them roughly gathered the unconscious survivors scattered inside the cruise ship in one place and called the Cartel. They didn’t refuse the call.
Surprisingly, the Cartel even had a service for customers stranded in the middle of the sea. Aside from using a yacht instead of a van, it was pretty much the same as Indemnis.
Ah, it was a little more expensive. Still, the service wasn’t bad. It was worth the money.
“Here’s the USB. This was the cause of the disappearance case. The survivors are probably still inside the cruise ship.”
He also handed over the USB, the evidence proving the request was complete.
The black USB that appeared before them after the space collapsed didn’t look all that unusual, but its aura was extremely alien. Because it had the odd trait of staying fixed as if plugged into a port even when inserted into empty air, the Cartel took it without much suspicion.
Thanks to the solid evidence, the first payment was deposited on the spot. The second payment would come after the survivors’ condition had been assessed.
He wasn’t in urgent need of money, so he didn’t have much complaint about their choice. The timing of the deposit didn’t matter much.
After spending a day like that on the yacht, the two of them stepped onto Korean soil again.
“Thank you for your hard work on the request. I hope to see you again if the opportunity arises.”
The Cartel employee dropped them off at Incheon Port and left. The two of them yawned and slowly started walking.
“Why does it feel like it’s been so long since I last set foot on land...”
“Because it actually has been a while. Aren’t you hungry?”
“Oh, I was fine, but now that you mention it, I’m hungry.”
“Then let’s eat. What do you want?”
“Let’s go to a buffet, a buffet. I saw it on SNS, and apparently there’s a buffet in Incheon with a really nice atmosphere. I’ve been wanting to try it.”
“Then let’s go there.”
Fortunately, the bike they had parked in the lot was still there. Ian put on his helmet with ease and sat her on the back seat. Iseoa looked around with a face half curious, half frightened at riding a bike for the first time.
“Is this actually safe?”
“The Godmother’s magic is on it, so there shouldn’t be any problems. I don’t have a spare helmet, so we’ll have to go without one for now. That okay?”
“If it’s safe, then I guess it’s fine. But isn’t this illegal?”
“It’s fine if we don’t get caught.”
Ian gave a small laugh and started the engine. Iseoa smiled too and wrapped her arms tightly around Ian’s waist.
“Floor it, oppa!”
Vroooom!
At her words, he twisted the throttle. The RPM shot up quickly, and the bike rolled out of the parking lot and started moving. The two of them raced straight into the wind toward the buffet Iseoa had mentioned.
Unfortunately, the buffet wasn’t very tasty for all its fame.