Chapter 29
“Wait, let’s calm down.”
“If I can’t get out of here, how am I supposed to breathe?”
My fingertips felt cold. My heart, racing from tension, pounded as if it would leap out of my throat.
The moment the rising water submerged this place, my life would be over.
[For the smooth progress of the quest, we specially present you with ‘Air PANG!’.]
What PANG?
[Air PANG!: Allows you to breathe freely underwater for approximately 5 hours.]
The fact they’re kindly giving me this ‘Air PANG’ or whatever means they really want me to clear this quest somehow.
Something translucent covered my nose and mouth and then disappeared.
I had no choice but to plunge into that black water.
I don’t like plunging.
But wait…
“Don’t you guys… seem a bit closer to me now?”
We’re not close enough to be this near, are we?
I was just babbling nonsense to try and break through the fear, but the head monsters just stared blankly.
S-stop it. Stop staring at me.
I’ve never received such intense attention in my life…
The water didn’t seem willing to wait for my hesitation and had already risen to my thighs.
I cautiously opened my mouth.
“…Abbyeo.”
[Attack power increased by 1%.]
[Accuracy increased by 0.1%.]
See? I’m threatening, right?
Even when I swung the nunchucks, they didn’t even blink.
Only I blinked.
Now, not even Holloway’s status window appeared. I guess she’s living well, having forgotten someone like me in an instant.
Holloway, your unnie is having a hell of a hard time, and you’re doing this?
Even if you are a heartless demon…
Even if your favorability rating is as low as a piece of crap.
Our time together hasn’t been long, but still…!
As if telling me to stop the nonsense, the water steadily rose, sloshing around my waist. And the ghosts had closed the distance by that much.
“…Fine. Since I have to do it anyway.”
Let’s do it. Like always.
I can’t die here. I can’t move my hands freely underwater.
So, I need to deal with these ghosts here first.
It seemed like the volume of shouting ‘Abbyeo’ increased attack power and accuracy, probably.
When I said it softly, it seemed lacking in confidence. When I raised my voice a bit, the increase was less than when I hit Suriel, but it still went up.
So, if I shout it extremely loudly, one after another…
This was the only thing I could do in this situation.
I gripped the nunchucks tightly with both hands and raised them high. I took a deep breath and shouted loudly.
“Abbyeo, Abbyeo!”
Simultaneously, I swung the nunchucks.
Whoosh—!
I thought I heard the sound of wind, something I’d never made before, and then it fell silent.
“…?”
Huh? No? This isn’t it?
Just as I thought I had failed…
Splash, splash.
The black water, which had risen to my waist, began to shake.
The vibrations reached me, and a whirlwind began to swirl around me.
[Attack power increased by 1011%!]
[Accuracy increased by 810%!]
[Exceeding 500% triggers a strong wind!]
Whoosh!
A fierce wind surged from around me and assaulted the monsters.
—Kieeeeeeek!
—Kiik!
The monsters, making all sorts of strange screams, were swept away by the whirlwind.
Thanks to the sudden gale, the water parted like Moses’ miracle, briefly revealing the pool floor before it vanished again.
The water surged violently from the recoil and then calmed down as if nothing had happened.
The faces floating on the surface had also disappeared.
[You have defeated the ‘Red-Eyed Piranha’.]
[You have acquired ‘Eyes That See’ as a reward!]
Eyes That See?
[Eyes That See: Eyes that allow you to see everything in the ‘Black Forest’ where nothing is visible.]
More importantly, that water ghost was a piranha?
Remembering the teeth hidden beneath the water’s surface sent an involuntary shiver down my spine, and I brushed my arm.
The water had now risen to below my chest. There was no place left to retreat.
No choice, even if it’s filthy. Since the water was already this high, I was practically underwater anyway.
“Huup!”
I took a deep breath and dove underwater.
I squeezed my eyes shut and tentatively tried to breathe; I could breathe as comfortably as if I were outside. I cautiously opened my eyes.
Thanks to the ‘Eyes That See’, the inside of the water was clear. The area under the black water was filled with all sorts of seaweed stretching out so long it was hard to believe such a place existed.
‘Is that why they called it a forest?’
I felt a sudden unease, not knowing what might emerge from the dense seaweed.
I started swimming, gripping the nunchucks tightly like my lifeline.
First, I’ll go straight… and look for the drain cover.
I could break the glass bottles one by one, but the Air PANG’s time would run out before I broke all the ones Suriel had collected over a long time.
I approached the seaweed. It was a space that made me hesitate, really not wanting to go in.
I couldn’t bring myself to enter and just stared at the seaweed when something glinted from within.
What is that?
I cautiously reached out, pushed the seaweed aside, and saw countless human body parts trapped in glass bottles.
‘Crazy…!’
Bubbles burst from between my parted lips.
I instinctively tried to flee upon seeing those countless bottles, but a thought suddenly crossed my mind.
Isn’t this a chance to destroy all of this?
With the nunchucks…!
The will to survive outweighed the fear.
I raised the nunchucks and shouted as before.
‘Abbyeo!’
Silence…
Huh?
‘Abbyeo!’
I shouted again, but it was the same.
……Don’t tell me.
Is it because my voice doesn’t work here?
Then I should go up to the surface and shout as loud as I can, louder than ever before.
Thinking that, I swam up, continuously upwards, and what I faced was the ceiling.
In short, the water had already filled up to the ceiling.
……I can’t use the nunchucks.
At that moment, a window appeared.
[The nunchucks’ durability has been exhausted.]
Pasusu…
The nunchucks crumbled to dust and scattered.
Evelyn has lost her weapon…
Having lost my weapon to attack, all I could do was find the drain cover and open it somehow.
I knew well that regretting what was already lost was useless.
Especially since I had to find the drain cover in this vast space, and the time limit wasn’t very long.
As I went back down and was about to close my eyes and enter the seaweed…
—I smell a human.
Thud, thud.
—I smell… a hu… man.
Is that, me…?
—Delicious… It smells delicious.
Delicious, me…?
At that moment, a giant arm suddenly shot out from the seaweed.
Caught off guard, I was pushed aside by the impact.
The hand that narrowly missed me was crimson. Red like an arm coursing with blood, and pale.
The arm with grotesquely protruding veins, and the opened hand, clenched into a fist without hesitation.
—……Failed. Didn’t catch it.
—That’s not the spot. Look carefully. It’s more to the side.
…Look carefully?
I instantly felt an eerie gaze.
From the direction of the seaweed, definitely.
I barely moved my neck to turn my head and met a large eye. My breath caught in my throat.
‘……!’
I was breathing, but I couldn’t breathe.
A pressing sensation, crushing my ribs and lungs, didn’t allow me to move even a fingertip.
—Over there.
—……Wait…
Can I escape?
I couldn’t move properly because of the water resistance.
I wasn’t that good at swimming in the first place.
—The one who… killed my children…
—We shouldn’t let it die easily.
Creak, crrrreak.
The pupils spun round and round, then the large eye’s pupil split into two.
The large palm that had missed me earlier approached at an unthinkable speed for being underwater and slammed down on my body.
‘Kuhk!’
The force was tremendous too. It was as if only I was affected by the water resistance; that monster moved freely.
Like a bug hit by a swung fly swatter, I was struck by the palm and sent flying, crashing into a wall.
‘Ugh!’
Blood burst from between my lips and surged upwards.
‘Keuhk!’
My whole body felt like it was being torn apart, agonizingly painful.
—Not dead yet.
The hand pulled back again, and I bit my lip.
I have to escape. But the range is too big!
I racked my brain fiercely during that brief moment.
The gun? Should I shoot it?
But I doubted the attack power would be effective underwater. Every bullet was precious to me; I couldn’t shoot recklessly.
Then…
The success rate might be low, but it was the only method I had now.
I swam to enter the thick seaweed. Inside the seaweed, I could hide my body, even if just for a moment.
That eye stared piercingly wherever I went.
A chill ran down my spine, as if the cold water had seeped into my very bones.
The fear of death loomed so large before my eyes. I unknowingly bit my lower lip hard enough to draw blood.
It felt like my whole body was resonating, as if someone was beating a drum. On top of that, my vision began to blur.
‘Why is this happening?’
Blinking and rubbing my eyes was useless.
[Fear has increased. The effect of ‘Eyes That See’ is beginning to fade.]
What does that mean, system?!
[Eyes That See characteristic: If you feel fear, your vision darkens.]
…What?
You didn’t say that before!
[It was written very small at the bottom.]
It wasn’t written!
But my words were ignored, and my vision went dark in an instant.
My swimming body stiffened rigidly.
I couldn’t see an inch ahead.
I couldn’t distinguish what was touching my fingertips: seaweed, water, or that something.
Nothing was clear.
…I’m going to die.
‘Like this? In this state?’
Not knowing where I was swimming, I bumped into something.
…A wall?
No. It’s not!
Creak!
‘Eyes…!’
Blink, blink.
It was because my eyes were closed that I couldn’t see.
After blinking a few times, my eyes suddenly stopped moving.
Something began to emerge from the two pupils. That something I knew.
The ‘Red-Eyed Piranha’ that had been floating on the surface!
There weren’t just one or two. Emerging as if swimming leisurely, they stared at me intently, then opened their mouths wide.
The corners of their lips tore, revealing densely packed sharp teeth.
—Kraaaaaaak!
‘Crazy!’
Chomp!
‘Aak!’
A silent scream burst out, and I was pushed by them, tumbling headlong to the bottom.
Thud…
My blood, vividly visible even in this dark black water, stained the bottom briefly before disappearing.
I didn’t miss that moment.
Can I distinguish things a little with blood?
To check, I grabbed the hair of the piranha still biting my shoulder and stabbed its eye. It seemed to hurt, as its grip on my shoulder loosened.
I didn’t miss the chance and tore it off. Blood gushed out.
I could see…!
Through the blood, I saw clearly. What was ahead!
It’s blood, I can see with blood!
The pain wasn’t an issue. The desperation to survive temporarily overshadowed it.
I gritted my teeth and crushed my shoulder to spread the blood. Then I lay flat on the bottom.
I deliberately smeared the blood as I moved forward.
Each time, the piranha’s teeth bit my calf, my thigh, my arm and hand, my waist.
‘Aak! My butt!’
It bit me right there!
Have you no decency?
Not the butt, come on.
Tears streamed down uncontrollably from the intense pain.
I won’t forgive you, really. Do you think I’ll die here? Even out of sheer resentment, I absolutely won’t die here.
[A strong survival instinct awakens.]
[The location of the ‘Drain Cover’ is revealed according to your survival instinct.]
…What are you talking about.
Are you saying I would have just died if that wasn’t there?
[If you lose any more blood, your cause of death will be ‘Excessive Blood Loss’.]
I’ll die?
No way!
I swam towards the arrow shining conspicuously in the black water.
Ignoring the stubbornly attached piranha, I stretched my arm and grabbed the drain cover.
‘Ge-get lost!’
The moment I grabbed the cover and lifted my hand—
Kwarurururuk!
With a sound like a toilet flushing, a violent whirlpool began to form around the drain.
‘Ugh!’
I couldn’t remain unscathed in it either.
Spinning round and round, all sorts of things gathered towards the drain cover, hitting my body from all sides.
Amidst the scattering blood, I could see the body parts in the glass bottles.
Kwarurururuk!
‘…The water level is dropping.’
The water drained away in an instant, and the water surface, which had been far above my head, fell to my neck, shoulders, waist, and then my ankles when a red candle flickered, illuminating the space.
My body trembled involuntarily.
