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I’m swimming down vigorously, looking downwards.

In the dark depths of the ocean, a silhouette appears.

Due to the sharp pain, the song seems to have no effect anymore, just echoing in my ears.

I should also ponder why I was affected by this song in the first place.

– Woooon…

The sound of something colossal reverberates.

Soon, the massive form begins to come into view.

How should I describe it? It feels familiar yet all mixed up at once.

Its eyes, nose, and mouth were attached like a human’s, but with just those features alone, it’s far from resembling a human in any way.

Of course, it had no limbs; behind it was a pure fish’s body.

However, where a tail should be, something grotesque resembling a sea cucumber was attached.

I see information flashing before my eyes.

[Name: Primordial Being]

[Age: Created around 3000 years ago]

[Special Skill: -]

[Talent: -]

[Background: This has flourished alongside humanity’s prosperity and is currently in its prime.]

[Weakness: Fish cannot survive out of water. Make use of the advantage of fighting on land as much as possible.]

Is this what they mean by a difference in hierarchy? Or maybe it’s how a child feels before a tiger?

I couldn’t even think of winning; the very idea of fighting never crossed my mind.

It locks eyes with me.

It flicks its tail just once, and I’m swept away by the overwhelming current toward the surface.

Without being able to resist, I’m pushed ashore and soon wake up in my room on my bed all disoriented.

“…”

The first thing I do upon waking is examine my arms and fingers.

“…What a mess.”

The bedcover was soaked in blood, and my pinky finger was still grotesquely bent.

But one thing became clear.

“This isn’t a hallucination.”

If this had been a hallucination, I would have woken up without any physical issues.

“Ugh…”

I stared at my aching left arm and the bent pinky finger.

I need to get treated as soon as possible.

I get up from my spot and open the door.

I felt a little dizzy, but it was manageable.

Slowly, I move with my gun and butane gas in hand.

Since Jang Chae Yeon isn’t here, could she have been affected too?

I recalled the face of the girl who had broken my finger.

If it hadn’t been for her, I might be here screaming alongside those I saw yesterday.

Just in case, I head to her room.

“Chae Yeon.”

I knock on the door and call her name, but there’s no response.

Surely, the place where she awakes should be her room. Why isn’t there an answer or reaction?

I shoot the doorknob, breaking it down and stepping inside, but there was no trace of her.

Could she have regained her senses already?

It’s an overthinking mindset, but if that were the case, she should have come to find me. The lack of that can only mean she is also unconscious.

There’s no helping it. Time to sort my thoughts.

As I walk down the corridor, I begin to piece together the situation.

First, there were a few unclear points.

Just like usual, I organize my thoughts together.

1. The reason I was affected by the song.

I’ve never been properly attacked by a mental assault before; considering the impulses and temptations I felt when I heard the song, something seems off.

In other words, it wasn’t a mental attack, or it was so powerful that I couldn’t have stood a chance against it.

But if that were the case, I should have been suffering from a headache, yet I felt not even a hint of it.

2. The seawater that came out from the torn mouth.

Following Song Ah Rin’s words, when I destroyed the mouth I found in the engine room, there should have been some change.

The fact that seawater came out despite tearing the mouth apart suggests that it wasn’t the main body, and destroying it wouldn’t resolve the situation.

In short, merely destroying the mouth won’t solve the issue.

Should I have fed it something instead?

3. The connection with the theater company.

I suspected the theater company at first, but the current flow of events diverges clearly from that.

Yet, it is also odd to think that the management agency would have overlooked such a precise timing.

“…I don’t know.”

With an exhale, I enter the lobby.

It was just like yesterday.

Many people stood in the lobby, staggering like zombies.

The difference is that yesterday, they were moving towards a specific place, but now no one is doing that—they’re just loitering in the lobby.

I look around, hoping to see someone I recognize.

Yu Da On and Song Ah Rin were standing together.

Yu Da On wore a blank expression, while Song Ah Rin seemed to be knitting her brows tightly as if resisting something, repeatedly muttering “no, no.”

“You two.”

“…”

“Excuse me.”

Neither of them replies.

After shaking their shoulders and pinching their cheeks and finding no response, I give up.

Where could Jang Chae Yeon be?

Despite scanning the area earnestly, she was nowhere to be seen.

I look out the window.

The sun had long been past noon.

Though it’s not a solid assumption, the seawater always rushed in before sundown.

Meaning, I wouldn’t know when the seawater might surge in.

The first place I need to go is…

My gaze shifts to the back office.

Naturally, it was the engine room.

As I walk towards the back office, I unfold the manual.

Let’s at least check the records, be it on this cruise or whatever is beneath the ocean.

I opened the manual but saw nothing.

I clicked my tongue in annoyance and muttered.

“Starting the record on the containment object. Object name: Primordial Being.”

The manual unfolds before me.

– Whoosh!

“This object was discovered on the cruise, and there’s no known response when compared with historical records.”

[Manual for Office Staff]

[PRV – Object Name – Primordial Being – Human Resources Team Kim Jae Heon Revised Edition]

“This object originally inhabited the deep sea but is gradually surfacing alongside humanity’s prosperity. The position and phenomena it exhibits vary, leading to counterproductive effects on personnel reviewing said object, hence the information is currently being controlled and restricted.”

This isn’t a joke. Is that why access is forbidden?

While irritation surged within me, my eye caught a hastily scrawled note below.

It’s something usually absent in manuals.

[The common trait among those who survived this phenomenon is that they all mentioned “the beach.”]

[If you are a member of the management agency reading this, you’re undoubtedly looking at this entry after encountering the object. It is deemed that heading towards the “beach” is currently the best option. Good luck.]

At that moment, a translucent window appeared before my eyes.

[Critical: 0->1]

“…”

At least the Critical has charged up; if that’s a silver lining.

I glanced at the translucent window before turning my attention back to the manual.

Is this some form of information control by the management agency? Why wouldn’t they let regular personnel have access to this?

A question flickered through my mind, but I set that aside for now.

What’s important isn’t that.

The beach is where I saw when Jang Chae Yeon tore open the mouth.

That was where the seawater rushed in.

Overthinking won’t help; I should just go.

*

When I finally realized it after arriving at the engine room, Jang Chae Yeon had bent the stairs to block it, and getting through required considerable effort.

“…Did I really need to bend it?”

Looking at my completely dirty clothes, a sigh involuntarily escaped.

I gaze at where the mouth was.

It was still split in two, just as she had torn it.

An ignorant strength ignoring weaknesses. Only she among us could wield such a power as I marvel at the space beyond the mouth.

It was a beach.

I see fine sand, and while the sky was filled with dark clouds, there are no discernible beaches.

“…”

This is where I’m supposed to go then.

Yeah, let’s go.

Acting quickly rather than pondering is the right choice.

After taking a deep breath, I step beyond the mouth.

A strange feeling of crossing through something washes over me, and I find myself standing on a fine sandy beach.

“…Huh.”

I survey my surroundings.

– Whoosh…

The waves crash in, creating a mist.

The fishy smell left only the lingering scent of the sea behind, as if it had been absent from the start.

I look up at the sky.

The sun isn’t visible; thick dark clouds filled the sky, enough to instill a sense of unease in onlookers.

As I watch the sky, a transparent window starts to reflect into my eyes.

[Name: Small Sea]

[Age: Created 1500 years ago]

[Special Skill: Sea]

[Talent: Sea]

[Background: This is one of the many homes and outposts of the Primordial Being.]

[Weakness: If the sea loses its meaning or if the ruler residing here is defeated, the outpost will naturally vanish.]

Defeat and outpost.

Does it represent a fight?

I don’t have a good feeling about this.

– Whoosh…

The sound of a whale blowing water from its blowhole pulls my gaze with it.

The sea parts, revealing something’s face.

It was grotesquely featured with eyes, a nose, and a mouth, its body resembling a fish, and something like a sea cucumber at its tail.

However, unlike before, I didn’t feel the disparity in standing before it.

It looked different and, above all, was smaller than what I had witnessed before.

What I had seen underwater seemed to be three times its size.

But that doesn’t mean I would win.

Are they telling me to fight that?

I glared at the single Critical I had.

Using it to defeat a fully prepared opponent doesn’t seem easy.

I suddenly hear footsteps approaching from behind.

“…You okay?”

A voice with minimal emotional fluctuation conveyed concern.

Her worry shining through was so typical of her.

“I thought I was done for.”

“You just broke one more finger.”

Jang Chae Yeon raises her left pinky and ring fingers, her face expressionless.

Both fingers were twisted.

“How did you know to come here?”

“Intuition.”

She confidently declares, standing beside me.

“So we need to take that down?”

“I don’t know, but according to the information I’ve gathered so far, that seems to be the case.”

“Got it. Then let’s do it.”

With a light statement, she raises her right hand.

I too pull out my gun and butane gas.

“I’ll brainstorm other methods.”

“Okay. I trust you.”

She responds without a hint of hesitation.

Four days left.

I truly hope we can just live half of our time on the cruise.