Ian went down to the lower levels of the cruise ship in search of Lee Seo-a. Thanks to an evil spirit he encountered on the way, which understood his intent and volunteered to guide him, finding her did not take long.
“Ah, Ian.”
Lee Seo-a was in the casino on the first floor. Judging by the blood smeared around her nose, she must have pushed herself as she continued fighting.
Fortunately, there were no enemies nearby now, so there was no real obstacle to conversation.
“Are you all right?”
Ian asked as he walked toward Lee Seo-a. She sat in a nearby chair, let out a long breath, and nodded.
“I’m not badly hurt. I got cut a little, but… this much is nothing.”
After saying that, she frowned as she looked at Ian’s torn cheek.
“You’re hurt.”
“I’ll get it treated once we’re out. There’s nothing I can do about it here.”
“That’s going to leave a scar… If you don’t want stitches, try applying the ointment they have at the Cartel. It’s expensive, but it works well.”
“I will.”
Ian answered vaguely and wiped away the blood flowing down his cheek. The already-dried scab broke apart and fell like powder, and, ignoring the stinging pain, he gripped the grimoire tightly.
“If you’re all right, let’s move. I’ve dealt with all the parasitic creatures, so we should only have to watch out for the pirates.”
“Really? That’s good. Don’t worry about the pirates. They’re ultimately the ones I summoned with my magic, so if I let the evil spirits loose, they’ll clash on their own and their strength will dwindle.”
“That’s good news.”
Ian and Lee Seo-a robbed the casino vault together, then slipped outside and climbed up to the cruise ship’s deck.
An open space. Through the thick sea fog, a pirate ship could be seen pressed right up against the cruise ship, and beneath it, something writhing briefly entered their sight.
Its silhouette could not be seen. But he could instinctively tell that something was there. And that it was not particularly friendly to humans.
“It’s probably a Watchman.”
Lee Seo-a said.
“An anchor that allows an Outer God to influence the surface. It’s a fairly powerful anomaly, so even the Bureau tends to send only department-head-level personnel to deal with them.”
“…An anchor.”
Ian leaned his upper body over the railing and tapped the grimoire.
“You know this space has been seized by mystery, right? This place is reality, yet not reality. It’s been eroded by mystery and changed into something like a game.”
“Explain in detail.”
So he did.
After hearing everything that had happened between Ian and the captain, as well as the conversation they had shared, she let out a low groan and wrapped a bandage around her arm.
“It looks like a path opened. That thing crawled in through the passage called a game.”
“Mm.”
“And the reason the situation hasn’t ended even though you killed the captain is probably because that enormous ‘anchor’ is blocking the passage.”
Tight.
After tying the knot of the bandage, she looked back at Ian and scattered bone powder on the floor. The ghost that crawled out pushed back the pirates who had just climbed onto the deck.
“Most likely, after some time passes, the passage will be forcibly closed and that thing will disappear too. Then we can return to reality.”
“Do you know how long that will take?”
“No. If we’re lucky, a few days. If we’re unlucky, we’ll have to consider years at most.”
“Then we’ll have to kill it.”
Ian answered immediately.
Just the thought of staying here for a few days made him shudder, and she was saying he might have to endure years?
Absolutely not. He did not want to remain in this place, reeking of fish, for even one more second.
No matter how nice the suite was, compared to the crude bed in his studio apartment, it was nothing but trash. And what about the stench of corpses filling every corner? Was there any reason he had to stay here killing time while also worrying about the safety of the civilians they had locked away?
There was none. If he had no means to kill that damned thing, then it could not be helped, but fortunately, Ian possessed one spell specialized for dealing with anomalies.
“I’m going to use magic. Stand back.”
Flutter.
The Records of the Deep Sea in his hand opened on its own, revealing the list of summoned creatures. As Lee Seo-a stepped back according to his instruction, she tilted her head with an intrigued expression.
“The second grimoire you mentioned at the Gallery?”
Instead of answering, Ian nodded, then took blood from his bag and drew a magic circle on the deck. Lee Seo-a assisted him.
He tossed several pieces of anomalous flesh onto the magic circle drawn in blood. He poured blood over it once more, then stretched out his empty hand and settled on the summoned creature he would call.
He could not summon something weak. He had to draw out a creature at least equal to the Watcher, or above it, if it was to fight on even footing with the thing in the sea. Creatures of the Outer Sea might be stronger underwater than on land, but there was no need to gamble on something he had not yet tested.
He needed certainty. And so, after careful selection, he chose one.
Its name was [Producer].
It was a creature one rank higher than the Watcher, an individual that possessed intelligence similar to a human’s. According to the grimoire, communication with it was possible, and the food it required was not very much.
However, he did not think a creature stronger than the Watcher would be satisfied with a small amount of food. From the perspective of the Outer Sea, perhaps it was not much, but here, it might be difficult to supply.
Even so, the reason he intended to summon it was that among creatures of the same rank, it was the only one capable of communication; that there was mention of it not needing much food; and that it had a close relationship with the Lord of the Outer Sea.
The Producer’s role was to turn the words spoken by the Lord of the Outer Sea into prey like plankton or minnows, then scatter them throughout the Outer Sea.
‘If the Lord of the Outer Sea truly cherishes me, and if she has mentioned me normally as well, then even if it’s hungry, it won’t be blindly hostile.’
As Ian thought that and looked into the grimoire, the grimoire vibrated faintly, as though laughing.
That became the surest trust of all. Ian no longer hesitated, and with his eyes closed, he recited the incantation.
“O one who conveys the language of the Great One. O one who governs both the upper and lower reaches of the ecosystem. I, who am that One’s proxy, command you: reveal yourself here and break through my enemy.”
Hsssss…!
The moment the incantation ended, a thick blood mist spread out over the magic circle. Lee Seo-a frowned at the sudden rush of blood-scented air, and Ian, gripping the grimoire firmly, stared at the enormous mass summoned above the circle.
A black body as large as an ordinary bus slowly turned its head toward Ian.
Its body was generally round. Its skin was covered in sharp black fur, and red eyes embedded irregularly across it rose with a ferocious gleam. Ian’s face was reflected clearly in the vertically split pupils, and black seawater began pooling like saliva in the Producer’s open mouth.
[…Ah.]
Soon, the maw at the center of its body gaped wide, and a voice flowed out.
[It is a pleasure to meet you, Proxy.]
“……”
[You, the companion chosen by our Mother, born on the fragile planet called Earth—I sincerely pity you, and also bless you.]
Even putting it as favorably as possible, the Producer’s voice was not a pleasant tone to hear. But it was clear and rational, and an intelligence that could not be hidden could be felt within it.
“…Wow, what the hell…”
Lee Seo-a swallowed dryly and cursed without realizing it. The Producer turned all of its eyes toward her, then looked back at Ian and blinked its eyelids.
[The Lord of the Outer Sea has commanded that I obey every request you make. However, even I can suppress my instincts only today, on this first summoning. From the next summoning onward, if there is no proper sacrifice, even I will have no choice but to eat you, Proxy.]
“…Does that mean that for this summoning, even if you aren’t full, you’ll return after completing only my command?”
[Indeed.]
The Producer lowered its head slightly. At least, it felt that way.
[The Lord of the Outer Sea hopes that the Proxy will come to her side even one day sooner. The fastest method is for you to be devoured by us. It is a means permitted only to you. She wishes to keep you by her side and live together with you for the rest of your life, rather than leave you loose in such a harsh environment.]
“……”
[But she respects your will, and so she has suppressed her own desire and left an order to me and the other creatures to obey the Proxy’s words. Is that not truly an act of benevolence?]
Ian remained silent, wondering how he should respond to those words.
Fortunately, the Producer did not wait to hear Ian’s answer. Letting a little of the black seawater pooled in its mouth spill out, it turned its head.
[The creature I must kill appears to be beneath the sea here. Is that correct?]
“Yes. It’s an anchor of an Outer God.”
[Nyarlathotep. An inferior species. The name of a fool who was born from nothing more than a story, yet believes itself to be one of the gods of the universe. Truly, an existence that deserves death.]
The Producer moved its enormous body and walked toward the deck railing. Along the path it took, black seawater spread like a carpet.
[It is truly regrettable that it is not the main body, but it cannot be helped. I suppose I must be satisfied with this.]
“Can you win?”
[That question is wrong.]
An eye that bloomed on the Producer’s back stared precisely at Ian.
[Command me. You have the right.]
“…Ha.”
At those words, Ian laughed softly and raised the grimoire in his hand onto his shoulder. Then he spoke lightly.
“Kill it and eat it.”
[I shall obey. Proxy of the Great One, and our new first parent.]
The Producer’s eyes curved into crescents all at once. Then it smashed through the railing and plunged into the sea.
Kwaaaang!
With a sound like a cannonball falling, water sprayed up. Ian, drenched by the pouring water, barely managed to thrust his head over the railing.
And he was horrified.
“Ha.”
The dull yet transparent sea. Every part of those waters had turned black, and blood-colored eyes were densely embedded across the surface.
It looked as though the sea had grown eyeballs. Just as Ian was inwardly marveling at a feature he had never seen in other creatures of the Outer Sea—
[Ooooooooooh!!!]
With a tremendous roar, the upper body of something surged above the surface.