Chapter 45: Give the Abyss a Blow (1)

Deep Sea Fish Hunting Specialty Broadcast – 45

EP.45 Give the Abyss a Blow (1)n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“….”

After the dive ended, the six members of Oceanos opened their eyes.

They looked at each other with different expressions, but there was one emotion they all shared.

It was confusion.

They were deeply confused at the moment.

“I’ll inform Silo first. We need to tell them that the ‘Evidence’ contains memories.”

Parang broke the silence.

“Oh, don’t worry about that. Someone from Silo already came and did a dive.”

“Oh.”

Suddenly, it struck her. They were fast.

Well, regarding the ‘Evidence,’ Silo would have to handle it first for Parang to do anything, so that part was set aside for now.

Now was the time to focus on Alexandra’s memories.

“Let’s watch this a few more times.”

So, Alexandra’s memories were replayed about three more times, and an emergency meeting of Oceanos began.

“Hmm. Finally.”

To hold the meeting, Diego also needed to speak, so they came out of the water.

None of them were sinking into despair or feeling depressed.

Even though they had witnessed the death of someone who had saved the world and become a god.

There were about three reasons for this. Ah, three reasons. I saw them again.

Anyway, first. All members of Oceanos had incredibly strong mental fortitude. Even though their skills protected them from mental attacks, they had to see those hideous monsters every day. Moreover, the atmosphere of the deep sea itself was very heavy and gloomy. To endure such a place, their mental strength had to be exceptionally strong.

Of course, just as Parang had briefly collapsed after the broadcast accident, their resistance to stress from ordinary human relationships or social life was at an average level.

The point is that seeing the army of monsters, bizarre pits, or even Alexandra’s death didn’t significantly break their mental fortitude.

Secondly, Alexandra’s death was… surprisingly peaceful.

While it’s undeniable that she died, there’s a vast difference between witnessing someone die in excruciating agony and seeing someone accept death as if falling asleep peacefully. Whether there was truly no fear within her would be revealed by examining the memories Alexandra stored in the ‘Evidence,’ but for now, that’s the assumption.

Thirdly, they recognized the gravity of the situation and what they needed to do. They had all clearly seen with their own eyes that the Slayers had died in the sea. Now, Oceanos had to accept that they were the only ones left who could protect the world.

Despair and depression aside, they had to save the world first.

For these reasons, they managed to remain calm.

And this is specific to Parang, but she felt somewhat relieved.

At least Alexandra didn’t die horribly.

Even though she had lost interest after reincarnation, the characters she once loved and who were now undeniably heroes of Earth didn’t die in agony.

The fact that they didn’t die writhing in screams brought her some comfort.

They moved to the meeting room set up in Parang’s house.

It wasn’t a dedicated meeting room, just a room with an enormous sofa and a large aquarium.

Given that she had to frequently accommodate seven people—now six—such rooms were quite common.

Anyway, Oceanos, seated.

The sofa was so enormous that everyone could sit comfortably.

“First, let’s each point out the suspicious parts. There are more than a few strange things.”

Indeed, Alexandra’s memories were distinctly odd. Especially to Parang, who had read the original novel, they seemed even more so.

“Wait, where did the ‘World’ go?”

“What’s that?”

“Russell, how can you not know something Parang knows? Pay more attention to the world around you.”

The ‘World’ is a dual-handed longsword that glows white. It was personally crafted by Hunter Han Siwoo early in the original story. Well, it’s a hunter story, so it’s a weapon enhanced by grinding down all sorts of monsters, including the final boss of the original work.

A sword that literally contains the world. Han Siwoo always carried this sword during battles, but it was absent in Alexandra’s memories of him.

Honestly, if the ‘World’ had been there, the Slayers wouldn’t have been driven into such a corner. They might have even won.

“Maybe it’s just lost in the sea? You know, when they ascended. Everything fell off.”

“No. Alexandra had the ‘Evidence.’ Olivia had the ‘Departure.’”

That’s true. For some reason, all the artifacts that the Slayers had presumably dropped into the sea had returned to their hands.

Artifacts like Yumeko’s ‘Superhuman’ and Marie’s ‘Amazement.’

All the main weapons or symbolic artifacts of the Slayers’ heroines were naturally handled by them.

Except for one, Han Siwoo’s ‘World.’

“Then we should start from there. Instead of questioning why the ‘World’ is missing, let’s discuss why the others are present.”

Xiao pointed out accurately.

“I think so too. But, hmm….”

“Hmmm….”

Honestly, how could they know?

According to what Silo told Parang, the point where the Slayers dropped their artifacts was about 8,000 kilometers from Hawaii.

That’s one-fifth of the Earth’s circumference.

It’s a distance that even Parang would find hard to swim, artifacts or not.

“Did they use a retrieval function?”

“Speak sensibly. They didn’t even know they were on Earth until they caught that bizarre pit.”

That’s true. The Slayers, who didn’t even know they were fighting on Earth, wouldn’t have attempted retrieval. Even if they had, it’s unlikely that an artifact 8,000 km away would have quickly returned to its owner.

The incident remained a mystery.

“We can make more inferences after a few more dives. For now, let’s focus on the information we can gather from this dive.”

That was a valid point. It was a time for selection and concentration.

“I have something to say.”

The first thing they chose to focus on was Vertea.

“You know, when that black thing got pierced and the monsters sped up. Didn’t you guys think anything of it?”

“Not really.”

“I definitely noticed it.”

Those were Russell and Diego, respectively.

“I haven’t observed other monsters in detail, but the Ghost Ship was definitely strange. Its movements seemed like it had been sluggish and then returned to its original speed. It wasn’t faster than usual.”

As Diego shared his observations, Vertea added more details.

“Right. After the black something was hit, the Ghost Ship started moving at its ‘original speed.’”

That certainly had significant implications.

There’s a world of difference between moving at normal speed and moving slowly and then returning to normal speed.

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure. I’ve followed the Ghost Ship several times. It was moving slowly and then returned to its original speed.”

“So, the monsters that were moving slower than usual started moving at their original speed as soon as the black mist was hit….”

This made the situation ambiguous again.

If the monsters had ‘sped up’ after the black mist was hit, one could speculate that the black mist had hidden power that was released upon being hit, or that it was an important entity that enraged the monsters.

But the monsters that were moving slower than usual started moving at their original speed as soon as the black mist was hit?

Parang fell into thought for a moment.

This… doesn’t it feel like…?

“The black something… was making the monsters move slower…?”

If that were the case, it would make perfect sense.

The monsters, slowed down by the black mist, went berserk as soon as the black mist was hit and the restriction was lifted.

It all fits together perfectly. Except for one part.

“Why?”

Indeed. Why?

Why was that black mist monster slowing down the movements of the other monsters? If it was trying to help the Slayers, that wouldn’t make sense. The black mist clearly showed signs of attacking the Slayers and even launched attacks, shooting strange purple thorns.

The accuracy was abysmal, but that was because the Slayers dodged well. Anyway.

It seemed like the black mist was leading the entire army. Its majestic presence in the center of the swarming monsters, emitting a sinister glow, was like an advertisement saying, ‘I am the final boss.’

Various opinions were exchanged, but no definitive answer emerged.

Ultimately, due to a lack of information, they had to skip this topic for now.

Next, they discussed the identity of the pit and Alexandra’s final moments.

But this too suffered from a lack of information.

Even after watching the battle with the pit for almost an hour and a half, and even seeing its death scene, they couldn’t identify what it was.

Not only the pit itself but even the nature of its attacks remained a mystery. Despite Oceanos members spending their entire lives exploring the sea, they couldn’t find anything similar to that creature.

All they could do was sketch a rough idea of what the underground part might look like based on fragmented information.

“It seems we’ll have to go there directly.”

Thus, they agreed on an expedition to Hawaii. All members of Oceanos would head to Hawaii as soon as possible to investigate the area.

How could such a monster be buried under Hawaii without them knowing? Russell got a thorough scolding.

“Ouch!! Ouch!!”

“You had something like that right under your house, and you didn’t even notice, you idiot!!!”

Next was Alexandra’s death.

“What was that all about? Was she possessed or something?”

“I don’t think so. It felt more like… telepathy.”

“Yeah. Definitely. It felt more like she was listening to a story rather than being possessed.”

“In the deep sea, unable to move, with a monster beside her. What kind of story did she hear to pass away so peacefully?”

“If it were me, I’d probably be more at peace in that situation. I’d accept it calmly.”

That was Xiao’s comment.

As a side note, Xiao always maintained a very detached attitude towards death. It seemed like she would just say, ‘Oh, I died,’ if she died in battle.

Well, considering she could control skeletons and see the memories of the deceased, it made sense.

“That’s… also a valid point.”

“Well, this is something we can figure out by examining the memories stored in the ‘Evidence.’ Let’s think about it later.”

Next, it was Parang’s turn to speak. Information that only she, among Oceanos, could know.

“Did you see Alexandra’s personal skill?”

“Yeah. Why?”

When Alexandra checked her status window to confirm her condition, everyone could see her personal skill.

[For the Mother Earth]

[Hated by those not on the ground.]

[Greatly loved by the earth.]

While personal skill descriptions are generally vague, this one was particularly cryptic. Both the restriction and the effect sections were incomprehensible.

Parang’s personal skill was very straightforward and intuitive by comparison.

Anyway, the personal skill written in Alexandra’s status window was definitely that. However, for Parang, this made no sense.

The personal skill of Alexandra in the original story was completely different.

[Blessing Seed]

[Extremely vulnerable to all curses.]

[Possesses the skill, ‘Ritual for the Earth.’ Becomes significantly stronger on the blessed ground.]

That was the description in the original story.

“But how do you know that?”

“Uh… I heard it from Silo, yeah. I heard it from Silo.”

Anyway. The unprecedented event of a personal skill being replaced had never been reported before. Elvira shared her opinion on this matter.

“Maybe… it’s related to the Ascension Ritual.”

“Ascension?”

“Well, think about it. It’s hard to believe that something in the deep sea could tamper with the status window. And it doesn’t seem like it was influenced by that thing; it feels more like the skill evolved.”

That was certainly true. It was unlikely that a personal skill influenced by something in the deep sea would have content like [Loved by the Earth].

“And the only event that could be considered a ‘evolution’ that the Slayers commonly experienced was the Ascension Ritual.”

“Yeah. That’s right.”

“We should ask Silo about this. They might know something since they led the Ascension Ritual.”

Thus, the meeting regarding the ‘dive’ concluded.

They had strangely gained a lot, yet also nothing.

It felt like each issue was missing just one piece of the puzzle. There were so many moments of ‘If only we knew this, it would all make sense!’

And that was enough to ignite Parang’s determination.

In the next dive, she was determined to uncover the truth of this incident.

“Alright, then….”

After a short break, the second meeting of Oceanos began.

“What should we do next?”

It was time to plan their next steps.