EP.9 The Death of Galecus (2)

 

 

 

Parang’s ‘Route Setting’ skill became more precise and accurate the deeper she went.

 

Normally, she wouldn’t use it to this extent, but now she was advancing with this skill constantly activated.

 

After all, blindly following could lead to encountering something that really shouldn’t be seen, which would be quite troublesome.

 

Well, her field of vision underwater was much wider than the camera’s, so if things went south, she planned to use a connection issue as an excuse to end the broadcast. She had already informed Yuna, who would handle things well from above the water.

 

Fortunately for Parang and the viewers, there was no need for the camera to suddenly cut out.

 

Parang had assessed that the likelihood of such an event was low. Galecus usually nested in isolated places.

 

There was no need to enter a labyrinthine area like a ‘Hive.’

 

Eventually, she would show such places, but today was not the day.

 

Soon, Galecus’s nest came into view. The current depth was 2.3 km.

 

As the nest began to appear on camera, the chat reactions intensified.

 

Parang stopped in her tracks, and Galecus darted into its ‘nest.’

 

Although it seemed like she had lost the fish she was chasing, neither Parang nor the viewers were concerned.

 

Parang knew she would catch it anyway, and the viewers…

 

─What is that?

 

─How is something like that here?

 

─What is that, really??

 

─Amazing deep sea;;

 

They were astonished to see the ‘nest’ they had only imagined in their minds.

 

Before their eyes was a massive tube that looked to be about 100 meters long.

 

It was like a toothpaste tube, floating in mid-water, or rather, mid-sea, in place. However, there were no brand names or company logos printed on it as one would expect on a tube. It was just solid white.

 

“I don’t know its exact nature either, but beyond a depth of 2 km, such absurdly large objects exist. Underwater hunters call them ‘Objects’.”

 

─This is seriously creepy.

 

─I’m getting chills in real-time too.

 

─I thought the nest would be some kind of cave…

 

The viewers, who had expected coral or a massive underwater cave, were shocked.

 

“Not many monster fish use caves as their lairs. Unless it’s an exceptionally large cave, monster fish can’t even enter, and if it’s large enough, it’s usually already occupied by a top predator.”

 

Strictly speaking, they aren’t the top predators, but it’s better to label them as such for various reasons.

 

─Top predator, damn;;

 

─That’s not the top predator??

 

─Where does that rank then?

 

“Well… In terms of monsters, it’s probably somewhere between a goblin and an orc.”

 

─I’m never diving again.

 

─What kind of place is the ocean…

 

─That’s below an orc? Are you kidding me?

 

The chat was in utter disbelief. Parang smiled with satisfaction.

 

Seeing the comment about never diving again made her feel she was doing her job right.

 

Feeling even more enthusiastic, Parang noticed a standout question.

 

─But why does the water colour look the same as it does near 1 km depth?

 

─?Yeah, shouldn’t it be pitch black?

 

It was true. The area around Galecus’s nest was even brighter. Despite the lack of sunlight, the surroundings were filled with a deep blue rather than black. It was bright enough that the silhouette of the ‘nest’ was clearly visible on the screen without any additional lighting.

 

“I don’t know the exact reason, but beyond a depth of 2 km, brightness becomes meaningless. There are places shallower than this that are much darker, and places much deeper that are as bright as just below the surface.”

 

Parang didn’t know much about this either. She could catch monster fish, but the supernatural phenomena occurring in the ‘monster fish layer’ were beyond her understanding.

 

─So now we’re defying the laws of physics?

 

─Scientists must be crying, lol.

 

─Scientists would probably love this! Maybe not grad students, though.

 

─Take that back right now, you jerk.

 

With stuff like that underwater, who cares about the laws of physics…

 

True to the adaptability of humans, the chat participants were accepting the scene as it was.

 

No one thought it was fake. The journey from diving into the ocean to this point was too incredible to be fabricated.

 

“Alright, today I’ll go inside for a brief look, catch Galecus, and then wrap up the broadcast.”

 

─I can’t get used to how nonchalant she is…

 

─Is she seriously talking like she’s just going for a stroll?

 

─For her, going for a stroll and catching Galecus might be about the same difficulty level.

 

─Now that I think about it, that’s true.

 

Regardless, Parang continued her explanation as she entered the tube.

 

“Galecus is very particular about choosing its nest. There must be no predators nearby, and it needs a long, narrow space with a place to store its captured prey.”

 

─Teacher, it’s dark and scary.

 

─It really is scary when it suddenly gets dark.

 

─Why isn’t Galecus glowing now? It’s terrifying.

 

Realizing her mistake, Parang noted that unlike her, the viewers couldn’t see inside the nest. While the outside was bright, the inside was a bit darker.

 

“Galecus doesn’t glow inside its nest. It only emits light when searching for food or a mate.”

 

Parang turned on the light. As expected from Yuna’s special lighting, it was incredibly bright, and the surroundings became clearly visible on camera.

 

The chat exploded with reactions.

 

─What’s that on the left, damn it?

 

─It’s even creepier than I expected, damn.

 

─What’s that on the right, crazy.

 

─Feels like watching a horror movie.

 

─Is it just me, or is there something ahead?

 

─Are we all watching different broadcasts? lol

 

─What are we supposed to do with creepy things all around?

 

Indeed, the inside of Galecus’s nest was filled with all sorts of things.

 

There were white objects that looked like bones, green clumps of some bizarre slime, black sticky substances covering the walls, and even the faintly visible front part of Galecus in the distance.

 

The overwhelming sight of the 100-meter-long tunnel filled the viewers with an involuntary shiver.

 

Regardless, Parang continued her explanation.

 

“As you can see, Galecus is white when it doesn’t emit light. As for the things around it, um… I’ll explain those later.”

 

She added briefly, “I think it would be hard for you all to focus on the explanation with these things right in front of you.”

 

“We can’t catch it inside here, so I’ll drag it outside and then explain everything one by one. Ah, but before that.”

 

She slowly moved forward with the light on.

 

“Not all monster fish are like this, but Galecus has degenerated eyes like typical deep-sea fish. It needs to operate in dark environments to find its prey.”

 

Parang reached right in front of Galecus and continued her explanation.

 

“As you can see, once Galecus settles into a position inside its nest, it never moves. Earlier, it was thrashing its head too much while swimming, so I couldn’t show you this area. I’m showing it to you now.”

 

Then, she turned off the light, detached it from her body, and held it in her hand, bringing it close to Galecus’s head.

 

– Click. –

 

Most fish don’t have eyelids and can’t close their eyes.

 

The moment she turned on the light, everyone beyond the screen made eye contact with Galecus’s empty black eyes.

 

─Ah, damn, that scared me.

 

─That’s so creepy, damn.

 

“Oops, sorry.”

 

─Doesn’t seem very sorry.

 

─I sense Shin Yuna’s vibe from this unfamiliar hunter…

 

Honestly, she wasn’t sorry. Parang’s playful side wanted to give them a little scare.

 

“Alright, now that I’ve shown you what I wanted to, let’s get it out of the nest.”

 

─Saying ‘let’s get it out’ in front of a 70-meter monster, lol.

 

─The scariest part is knowing she’ll somehow manage it.

 

Parang rummaged around the nest. She aimed to find Galecus’s eggs.

 

Naturally, this process brought the nest’s various disgusting elements into and out of the camera’s view. The viewers were having a hard time.

 

─Teacher, I don’t know what you’re looking for, but please turn off the light while you search… We know you can do it…

 

She could indeed find it without the light. She was just feeling playful again.

 

Parang was starting to enjoy the broadcast.

 

Initially, it was driven by a sense of duty to keep people away from danger, but she liked how people reacted with emotions to her words and actions.

 

‘I can control their emotions…!’

 

It felt a bit twisted, but as long as she enjoyed it, it was fine.

 

Anyway, despite already knowing the location, Parang spent another five minutes rummaging through the nest before finally grabbing Galecus’s eggs.

 

“Found it. These are Galecus’s eggs.”

 

Anyone who has seen salmon roe or flying fish roe would know that fish eggs are quite different from typical land animal eggs.

 

─This is… an egg?

 

─Damn, I never imagined that.

 

─What about the eggs I knew?

 

Moreover, how would the eggs of a monster fish look? The eggs Parang found were in the form of a long pouch.

 

Parang held the pouch in front of her face, saying, “These are the eggs,” and squeezed it a bit.

 

The egg wobbled like a water balloon. When Parang turned on the light, the inside of the egg became visible, showing the creature inside moving around.

 

─Gross!

 

─Ugh

 

─The visuals are really disgusting.

 

─I was eating while watching this!!

 

“Uh, sorry to those who were eating.”

 

─But what was that white, gooey stuff that came out of the hole earlier?

 

─Oh…

 

─Oh, what’s ‘oh,’ you crazy person?

 

“Ah, that was pre-spawn eggs. The eggs form inside the body with that liquid, and when they’re ready to hatch, they are laid like this.”

 

So, what are you going to do with this?

 

“Most monster fish can instinctively sense the state of their eggs. They can feel if the eggs are broken or hatching, even from a distance. This is the best way to lure a specific monster fish.”

 

Parang grinned mischievously and pulled out a net.

 

She planned to take a bunch of eggs and leave the nest. If she was going to catch it, she might as well wipe it out completely.

 

It seemed Galecus had divided its eggs into multiple clusters, storing them in various places.

 

Of course, this was futile against the merciless monster fish exterminator, Yu Parang.

 

Parang scoured the entire nest, sweeping all of Galecus’s eggs into the net.

 

“This should be enough. Let’s head out.”

 

Since she was at the very end of the 100-meter tunnel, it took a while to get out. She swam slowly to avoid waking Galecus.

 

Once outside…

 

─What are you going to do now, teacher?

 

─I feel like I can calmly accept whatever she does now.

 

“Now, I’m going to break the eggs. When Galecus senses that the eggs are damaged outside the nest, it will come out in a rage.”

 

─I expected this, damn it.

 

─Galecus <- This guy is starting to seem pitiful.

 

“Since it’s not just one but all of them, it will probably come out immediately once I break them. I’ll count to three before breaking them so you won’t be startled by its sudden appearance.”

 

─Thank you… thank you…

 

─I was too scared to watch, but I’m glad I didn’t.

 

“One—”

 

Parang counted up to “two” before she threw the net full of eggs at the entrance of the nest.

 

About fifty eggs burst simultaneously, spreading purple slime everywhere.

 

“Oops.”

 

ㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Roarrrrr-!!!!!

 

Galecus’s body filled the camera’s angle, which was filming the entrance of the tube from the side.

 

It looked like a train passing right in front of the camera.

 

─Damn it, you said you’d count to three!

 

─I spilled my coffee out of shock.

 

─I trusted you, I trusted you, I trusted you.

 

“My hand slipped.”

 

She said it in a calm tone, as if she were saying, “The weather is nice today.”

 

‘Since I need to show how terrifying the ocean can be, this much should be fine.’

 

Parang struggled to suppress her laughter, her lips curling up almost to the surface.

 

“Sorry, huff. About that.”

 

─You were definitely holding back laughter just now, right?

 

“No, I wasn’t.”

 

She was.