Chapter 101

〈Chapter 101〉 Part 1, Chapter 6 (7)

A spirit is detected.

Woooom-

The ultrasound sent by the monster spread across the entire sea. The little monsters following behind began to go berserk, their eyes leaking violet organs.

BOOM!!

The monster shook its streamlined body and cut through the waves as it advanced. Numerous sea monsters moved behind it.

Destination: North. Where the essence of the spirit is felt.

4:13 AM.

Moby Dick appeared near Tsushima Island.

* * *

<6 minutes ago. 4:07 AM, Milky Way Cruise Bridge>

“Quickly increase the ship’s speed! Or we’re all going to die!”

The girl burst into the bridge and shouted at the top of her lungs. The captain and crew looked awkward as they rejected her suggestion.

“It’s nap time. If we rev up the engine unnecessarily, we’ll get complaints from the passengers.”

“Now is not the time for complaints?! It’s a matter of life or death!”

“This kind of behavior from a student is troublesome.”

The captain sighed in irritation. The acrid breath of cigarettes and coffee mix made the girl take two large steps back.

“It’s already past 4 AM. In about four hours, we’ll arrive in Busan.”

The captain pointed at the map. The ship had already passed through Tsushima and was crossing the sea toward Busan Harbor.

“The passengers have been asleep for about six hours since the onboard party ended. They’re sleeping soundly right now. We can’t do anything if you cause a disturbance here.”

“Disturbance?! Nooooootttt!!! People’s lives are on the line, and you call this a disturbance?!”

The black-haired girl’s crimson eyes gleamed like blood. The captain flinched at the manifestation of magical power but quickly regained his composure and answered stubbornly.

“A student coming into the bridge and telling us what to do about navigation is a disturbance. Since you’re still a student, I’ll let it slide this one time. If you don’t leave now…”

The captain’s chest muscles twitched. The nameplate hanging on his white uniform popped off momentarily.

“I’ll have you forcibly removed and handed over to the coast guard.”

“Ahhh, really?! Do you even know who I am?!”

The girl pointed at her own face. She was secretly quite annoyed that her demands were being ignored. The captain waved his hand dismissively as if shooing away a mad dog.

“Student, while I’m still being nice…”

“What is the matter?”

A man in a black suit appeared at the commotion in the bridge. The captain closed his eyes tightly for a moment before flashing an embarrassed smile as if nothing happened.

“There’s nothing. A curious student came to look around the ship and is now visiting the bridge. I’m just quietly advising her.”

“But we could hear the commotion all the way in the passenger cabin… Could it be Gale Guest?”

The man blurted out his thoughts the moment he saw the girl’s face. The girl looked embarrassed but stomped her foot dramatically and shouted.

“Yes! Gale Guest Himeji Hayate’s younger sibling, Himeji Hikari! Finally, someone who understands me!”

“…What?! The younger sister of the mass murderer?!”

The captain gasped and took a step back. One of the helmsmen in the bridge grabbed the broom he was holding like a sword and went on high alert.

“Younger sister?! How did she board without parents?! Gale Guest doesn’t have parents! How did she board without a guardian?!”

“…I hacked it?! What?! Is it illegal for a middle schooler to board alone?! I’m old enough!”

Hikari placed her fists on her hips and took a deep breath. Nothing changed. The man in the suit scratched his watch awkwardly as he watched her antics.

“It’s 4 AM, Hikari student. Even if you’re related to Round Table Hero, we cannot forcibly stop a passenger ship.”

“T-There’s a monster coming! An S-Rank monster, Moby Dick?!”

Hikari shouted with tears welling up in her eyes. However, no one in the bridge could easily believe her words.

“Then we would’ve received a warning! It would’ve shown up on the monster radar!”

“Hey, you’re connected to the Round Table! There must’ve been some other way to know!”

“Hey! There are 200 Japanese people on this ship! 500 passengers total! Neither the Defense Ministry nor the Association has contacted us yet!”

“…Impossible.”

The suited man gasped. As everyone’s attention turned to him, he inadvertently voiced his thoughts.

“<Oracle> called you? Did they relay that information to a student instead of Gale Guest…?”

“Yes! That man you call a mass murderer heard from Oracle and told me! The Defense Ministry will soon make an announcement too!”

With Hikari’s words, panic broke out in the bridge. While Gale Guest, admired as a prodigy in Japan, was impressive, the prophecy from <Oracle>, another hero of the Round Table and a renowned seer, carried much more weight.

The captain quickly adjusted his cap and shouted.

“Hurry! Turn the ship around! Dock at any port!”

“Ah, sure!”

The crew was flustered and couldn’t properly respond. Fortunately, they had just passed Tsushima, so they only needed to turn the ship around and head back toward Tsushima.

The navigator checking the nautical chart shouted.

“Hatakatsu! The nearest Hatakatsu Port International Terminal is available! Approximately 30 km away!”

An international port located deep within a bay on the northeastern part of Tsushima Island. Among the possible destinations from their current position, it was the closest port.

Current time: 4:13 AM.

At a location approximately 60 km southwest of Tsushima Island, numerous red dots began appearing on the radar over the sea.

“M-Monster?!”

“It’s not just one!”

Hikari immediately commandeered the nearby PC and started typing rapidly. Her fingers moved at light speed, displaying a satellite image of the area on the bridge situation screen.

“Hydra Type 2, right? There’s no way it came alone!”

The hydra that emerged through the dimensional gate opened in Okinawa and hid in the deep sea. After nearly ten years of hibernation, the tyrant of the seas revealed itself, and it wasn’t alone.

“They weren’t hiding… They’ve been gathering monsters from all over the sea!”

Just before the satellite image became obscured by the emissions from the hydra’s organs, the number of monsters visible on the sea surface exceeded a hundred.

Among them, the most striking was the colossal whale leading the pack of monsters, swimming toward Tsushima Island. Its length, even by naked eye estimation, seemed to reach about 50 meters.

Hikari suddenly snapped back to reality.

“Keep moving forward!”

“What?!”

“Run at full speed to Busan!”

“What are you talking about?!”

“S-Rank monsters won’t leave Tsushima Island alone, will they?!”

The prow of Moby Dick was heading straight for the nearest place where humans might be found—Tsushima Island.

* * *

<4:17 AM. Southernmost point of Tsushima Island, Tsubutsuaki Observation Deck>

An empty observation deck, serene without a soul around, where waves crash against the cliffs. Gradually, shadowy figures began to appear.

Keeek.

They stood upright on two legs with dangling arms like humans but were not human. Under the moonlight of dawn, their mouths revealed teeth twisted like saws.

Gyaak!

Twenty years ago, they first appeared in Alaska and occasionally surfaced along coastlines worldwide—the fish-like monster known as Abyssal Catfish.

Once merely finned creatures with rudimentary limbs, these deep-sea monsters now crawled onto land like toddlers taking their first steps, slowly inching toward the mainland.

Woooom.

Though they lacked eyes, the bioluminescent tips of their cephalic tentacles emitted magical energy. The purple glow scattered waves of energy, which the abyssal catfish read as they gradually moved.

Toward nearby residential areas, very close by.

* * *

“Hey! Can’t you fly any faster?!”

Gale Guest Himeji Hayate couldn’t hide his impatience. Even the usually composed man, who never lost his cool in front of stronger monsters, showed signs of urgency, making the pilot seated in the cockpit grow anxious and shout.

“We’re already flying at 600 knots! We’ve surpassed the limit speed!”

“Damn! You’re flying too slow!”

“Hey! Are you dissing our dad’s private jet?!”

“It’s basically Pinky Pie’s anyway!”

The pink streamlined fuselage sliced through the clouds, racing across the sky. The pilot, with her soft pink hair flowing in the wind, confronted Gale Guest.

“Hey, that’s why I told you to go back to your country!”

“Then why didn’t you tell me earlier?! Moby Dick’s already out! Your prophecies aren’t panning out!”

“Calm down, both of you.”

Gawein drew his sword to separate them. The light emanating from the Excalibur bestowed by the queen calmed the two men slightly.

The strongest knight of the Round Table and the world’s foremost hero. He was the top candidate for SS Rank, a level the association had yet to define, surpassing everyone.

He who renamed himself after a legendary knight took a deep breath and checked the map.

“Do you think we’ll arrive in time?”

“No idea. We’re not flying the usual route. It’ll take at least 4 to 5 hours at minimum.”

“Damn! Yunjang?! He’s the closest, isn’t he?!”

Gale Guest anxiously tapped on his Round Table smartwatch. From the moment he left California, he’d been trying to contact Xiao Lin, the Round Table member stationed in China.

But there was no response from Yunjang. Gale Guest slammed his fist against the wall in frustration.

“Why isn’t he answering?! At a time like this!”

“…Maybe he can’t receive calls.”

Gawein muttered thoughtfully. As the most experienced member of the Round Table and someone who knew the political landscape inside out, he was well aware of the ambiguity surrounding Yunjang.

“What?! Don’t say ridiculous things!”

“Hey, you need to calm down. I understand you’re worried about your sister…”

“She’s my only family.”

Gale Guest’s emerald eyes flashed. His killing intent surged as if he’d slash anyone who irritated him, even Oracle.

“I said calm down, Gale Guest.”

But Gawein’s rising magical energy subdued Gale Guest’s.

“…Why did she suddenly decide to go to Korea?!”

“Maybe she discovered something. Unlike me, a prophet, she probably found something scientifically significant.”

Oracle chuckled bitterly.

“Your sister helped us countless times since elementary school. Remember when she analyzed the weaknesses of the hydras during the Dodgers incident? Without her, half of America might be gone. And Yunjang is the same as you.”

“What?”

Gawein gritted his teeth and explained.

“Yunjang also has family ties involved.”

Though different from yours. Gawein closed his eyes.

* * *

Her long black hair flowed in the wind down to her ankles. The woman, who usually wore training martial arts uniforms and focused solely on combat, now strolled through the garden in a charcoal cheongsam.

Like a set from a medieval drama, a vast lake lay in the center of the garden, with lotus leaves floating peacefully.

“…”

Her footsteps headed towards the pavilion. Among the branches hanging from the trees planted in the garden, a small sparrow sitting in its nest startled and flew into the sky.

“Ah…”

She sighed and extended her hand. The mother sparrow ascended high into the sky but circled the garden as if something worried her. Back in the nest, tiny baby sparrows, their eyes still unopened, slept soundly.

“Hmm.”

She subtly released her magical energy. The agitated mother bird, sensing her magical aura, descended gracefully into the garden.

Chirp chirp

“I won’t harm you.”

Chirp chirp

The mother sparrow perched on her palm and gently rubbed her head against the woman’s finger. Smiling fondly, the woman raised her palm towards the nest.

Bang!

A gunshot rang out. Pierced by the bullet, the mother sparrow fell to the ground, and the baby sparrows began to squawk in fright.

“Harmful ones must be eradicated.”

The man gave a calm hand signal. Soon, men in martial arts uniforms bowed deeply.

“Dispose of it.”

“Yes.”

Following the man’s orders, the martial artists moved mechanically. They collected the dead mother sparrow and carried the entire nest away from the garden.

Soon, those sparrows would likely become food for the monsters. Taking a deep breath, the woman parted her lips.

“…The babies couldn’t even open their eyes yet.”

“If the seed is rotten, you must pull out the roots. Strengthen your resolve.”

The man stood beside her. Though he didn’t appear particularly old, the wrinkles around his eyes suggested he was well past forty.

“You are the future of China. With the time you should dedicate entirely to martial arts, what are you doing here?”

“…From afar, I sense battle. The deaths of people carried by the sea breeze have reached here.”

The man clicked his tongue. For any ability user, the basic smartwatch was absent from her wrist.

He deliberately didn’t give it to her. To prevent her from being influenced by wicked individuals. To avoid her being indoctrinated with unnecessary ideologies.

“The wind calls me, Father.”

The woman lifted her head. The downturned corners of her eyes clearly resembled his. The man glared at her.

“So, are you defying me now?”

“…”

The woman swallowed her words. That was the best she could do. The man pressed her further.

“I saved you from your abusive birth mother. I provided you with this spacious home and assets sufficient for three generations. Despite the risks of having an illegitimate child exposed to rivals, I took you in. Have you forgotten?”

“…No. How could I forget the grace of your rescue? But…”

“Enough. I don’t wish to hear more. Xiao Lin, your task is to prepare immediately and head to Shenyang. I’ll give you two periods of time. The red earth is already prepared. Prepare yourself.”

The man turned and disappeared. The badge on his chest, illuminated by moonlight, revealed his affiliation with the “Monster Countermeasures Management Bureau” and his name, Mo Taegyeong.

“…”

The woman knelt down and touched the spot where the mother sparrow had fallen with her right hand.

“You’ve passed on peacefully, Guangjian.”

As her magical energy dispersed into the ground, the mother sparrow’s blood vanished into the soil. Rising, the woman looked up.

“How peaceful is the underworld?”

There would be no answer. Recalling old memories, the woman bitterly smiled.

“‘Even rolling in dung is better than the afterlife,’ you once said. Didn’t you?”

She raised her hand. Dust swirled into the night sky carried by the wind.

“You were wrong. You.”

The woman stared blankly at the swirling dust before stiffening her expression and walking down the corridor. At the end of the corridor hung a green war robe and a red mask.

“I’ll pay my respects again when I return from the grave.”

Pushing her hair forward, the woman donned the mask over her face.

Moments later, a divine figure clad in a green war robe and wielding a crescent blade rode a red horse and galloped across the night sky.