EP.10 The Death of Galecus (3)

 

 

 

ㅡㅡㅡㅡ!!!! ㅡ!!!! ㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ!!!!

 

“It’s enraged.”

 

I’d be enraged too.

 

It was a valid point. But Galecus wasn’t a viewer or Parang, so she decided not to care.

 

“I think I’ve shown you everything there is to see about Galecus. Now, after catching it, the nest… Did you get a good enough look at it earlier?”

 

─Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.

 

─We completely understand.

 

─No need to go back in!!

 

The viewers, who had suffered enough during the egg-gathering process, had no desire for further explanations about the nest.

 

“I’d like to take a closer look and explain more if possible, but since you say so, I guess I have no choice.”

 

Parang looked at Galecus, which was furiously thrashing around in the water, searching for her.

 

─Is it okay to leave it like that?

 

“Of course not. It’s fine now because it’s blinded by rage, but once it calms down a bit, it will find me immediately.”

 

Parang finished speaking and opened the cartridge on her left arm, taking something out.

 

“Yuna, can you switch the broadcast to Camera 3?”

 

‘Camera 3?’

 

Yuna tilted her head in confusion but switched the broadcast to Camera 3.

 

It was the camera Parang had taken out from the cartridge.

 

As she brought it to the entrance of the nest, the vacuum suction plate activated, fixing the camera in place.

 

The view switched from Parang’s perspective to a view from the nest entrance, showing the space in front.

 

Parang’s face filled the screen as she checked if the camera was securely fixed.

 

It was what people call an “extreme close-up shot.”

 

─She’s pretty even from this angle.

 

─Wow…

 

─But why the sudden camera switch?

 

“The upcoming battle would make you dizzy if viewed in first-person. Watch from here.”

 

Parang confirmed the camera was securely fixed and stepped back, revealing Galecus still swimming madly in the distance.

 

“I’m off. Ah, to make it more comfortable for you to watch, I’ve added a new feature to the suit.”

 

Parang tapped the left shoulder of her suit.

 

With a flash, the entire suit lit up in a bright blue, making Parang look like a human light source.

 

“This way, you can clearly see my movements.”

 

As she spoke, Parang’s eyes glowed blue.

 

“Well then, I’m off.”

 

– Swish-!! –

 

The blue line she drew reached Galecus in an instant.

 

“By the way, the mic is still connected.”

 

The broadcast screen shifted to a view of Parang and Galecus’s fight from a distance.

 

‘She planned this from the start…!’

 

Yuna was astonished.

 

Regardless, Parang was busy contemplating how to handle Galecus.

 

“Ambushing would be boring, so I’ll draw its attention first.”

 

─Ambushing is boring (while grinning).

 

─Teacher, this isn’t about fun.

 

“Galecus has an exceptional ability to sense vibrations and sounds in the water. Just a small explosion nearby will reveal my location.”

 

Parang used a skill to create a water bubble. It was a bit awkward with her left hand since she was holding an egg in her right hand.

 

Still, a soccer ball-sized water bubble formed and then popped.

 

Galecus, which had been swimming madly, suddenly stopped and turned its head sharply towards Parang.

 

Parang popped the remaining egg.

 

Then she smiled brightly.

 

“Peek-a-boo.”

 

ㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ!!!!!

 

The battle began.

 

Galecus charged at Parang, thrashing its head wildly. Parang watched with interest.

 

Having only ambushed from the sides before, it was her first time seeing the inside of Galecus’s mouth.

 

“Oh, it doesn’t have a jaw.”

 

Parang retrieved the harpoon she had left in the nest.

 

Expecting it to have a jaw like a garfish, she was surprised to see a round, straight throat with spiral teeth, similar to a lamprey.

 

Each tooth was about the same size as Parang. It was like a fly attacking a human.

 

However, Parang could swim at incredible speeds, throw harpoons, and cause explosions.

 

She was like a super ultra fly.

 

“I won’t drag this out too long.”

 

She swallowed the rest of her words, thinking it might come off as too much.

 

Parang moved sideways at an incredible speed, dodging Galecus’s trajectory. Then, as if stepping on an invisible wall, she stopped without any rebound and charged at Galecus.

 

From start to finish, she had no intention of giving a mere fish the upper hand.

 

“Anchoring.”

 

Immediately, a water pathway opened, connecting to Galecus’s gills.

 

– Bang!! –

 

The harpoon was thrown at a terrifying speed. From skill activation to the throw, it took just 0.5 seconds.

 

Parang shot forward, overtaking her own throw.

 

She swiftly moved to the opposite side of Galecus, matching its speed next to its left eye.

 

‘Retrieve…!’

 

She reached out and retrieved the harpoon she had thrown, watching it fly back towards her at the same speed.

 

– Swoosh-! –

 

The harpoon pierced through from the opposite side, entering through the gills, passing through the brain and eye, and landing in Parang’s hand.

 

ㅡㅡㅡㅡ!!!!ㅡㅡㅡㅡ!!!ㅡ!!!

 

─Wow, what’s with the suit’s light? It’s really pretty.

 

Due to the underwater environment, her streaming had a 2-3 second chat delay.

 

Parang smiled at the satisfactory speed and positioned herself ahead of Galecus, which was now swimming much slower due to its damaged vital organs.

 

Not that it could ever match her speed in the first place.

 

Galecus charged with its mouth wide open, but by the time it reached where Parang had been, she had already moved and was swimming next to its gills again.

 

What Galecus swallowed, thinking it was her, were four explosive air bubbles.

 

She had created them in a line at 20-meter intervals, and Galecus had swallowed them like Mario collecting coins.

 

Confirming the bubbles were inside, Parang quickly drew a blue line as she pierced Galecus’s rear, middle, and front sections with her harpoon. These were the brain, heart, and central tail muscle.

 

Explosions erupted from the pierced spots. She had precisely punctured the scales and burst the air bubbles inside.

 

Galecus suffered fatal damage to three critical organs in an instant. Parang’s blue trail in the water made it look like the creature was threaded on a string.

 

─Why would you willingly stand in front of its mouth?

 

Speed, check.

 

ㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ………

 

Galecus, now unable to swim and barely clinging to life, floated motionless in the water.

 

It was time to finish it. Parang gripped the harpoon with both hands, aiming it forward like a gun.

 

She charged.

 

– Ziiiiiik-!! –

 

The harpoon tore through Galecus’s flesh, leaving a long, red wound.

 

Parang paused.

 

Originally, she had planned to kill it with straightforward slashes.

 

But something felt lacking.

 

She wanted something more performative, artistic, something that would leave an impression.

 

Then, a scene from a novel she had read in her past life flashed in her mind.

 

Wouldn’t this be a fitting end for the performance?

 

She remembered the camera was positioned over there.

 

Parang looked at the 70-meter canvas before her.

 

– Zik- Ziiiiik! Zik! Zik!! –

 

─What is she doing now?

 

─Is she doing what I think she’s doing?

 

─Looks like it.

 

Deep-sea Monster Hunting Broadcast

 

She scrawled in red letters across Galecus. She had intentionally led it close to the camera, making it clearly visible on the screen.

 

“Introducing myself as B-rank underwater hunter Yu Parang, who you’ll be seeing often. Nice to meet you.”

 

─What?

 

─What is this?

 

─Huh?

 

She suddenly plunged the harpoon into the letters.

 

Deep-sea Monster Hunting Broadcast.

 

At the same time, the fourth bubble, impaled by the harpoon, exploded with a bang.

 

It was located where the egg sac was.

 

ㅡ…ㅡ…

 

Galecus did not dissolve into light and disappear.

 

Unlike the orcs on the surface or the superstar Velua, Galecus was a creature of Earth affected by the Gate.

 

Since the eggs had already been laid, creatures emerging from the Gate couldn’t reproduce. Thus, what remained of Galecus was just a corpse.

 

Even Parang couldn’t drag a 70-meter monster’s corpse to the surface. It could attract other monsters, and there was no reason to do so in the first place.

 

“There’s not much to salvage from Galecus’s body… The teeth are soft, and the skeleton isn’t worth much.”

 

In short, it was a fish that didn’t bring in money.

 

So why did she catch it?

 

Parang could answer confidently.

 

Because there was a monster.

 

With such a creature floating around in the sea, she couldn’t just ignore it. So, she killed it whenever she saw it.

 

Anyway, the Galecus hunt was a great success.

 

The chat was burning with the fastest speed since the broadcast started.

 

However…

 

– Thud. –

 

‘I’ve dragged this out too long.’

 

“Well, I’ll end the broadcast here. See you all next time.”

 

– Thud. –

 

─Wait, here?

 

─Hold on, no way.

 

─Huh?

 

─Teacher?

 

– Thud. –

 

Parang quickly turned off all the lights on her suit and manipulated the cartridge to send a signal to Yuna.

 

An emergency broadcast termination signal.

 

– Thud. –

 

In any situation, this signal meant the broadcast had to be terminated immediately.

 

Fortunately, an alert sound indicated that Yuna had properly handled it and the broadcast was ended.

 

– Thud. –

 

─This is B-rank…?

 

That was the last message before the chat stopped.

 

– Thud. –

 

After confirming that, Parang quickly gathered her belongings and hid inside Galecus’s nest.

 

Going deeper wasn’t an option. She hid in the narrow junction between the nest’s entrance and the wide passage.

 

– Thud. –

 

She was hiding behind the door.

 

– Thud. –

 

– Thud. –

 

– Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. –

 

Parang pressed herself tightly against the wall, not even daring to breathe.

 

– Thud. –

 

Eventually, something filled the hole of the tube where Parang was hiding.

 

An eye.

 

It was peering inside.

 

” ”

 

It was ■■.

 

………

 

– Thud. –

 

– Thud. –

 

– Thud. –

 

– Thud. –

 

– Thud. –

 

– Thud… –

 

Eventually, it disappeared into the distance.

 

Parang cautiously peeked out from the gap in the tube.

 

Far away, beyond the navy mist.

 

Something was standing there.

 

A human.

 

To be precise, something in the shape of a human.

 

It was so large that, despite the immense distance, its form was clearly recognizable.

 

Parang knew what it was.

 

A statue. Like the Statue of David or the Venus de Milo.

 

A giant statue in the shape of a human.

 

But it was definitely not a statue.

 

Something pretending to be a statue was walking under the sea.

 

As soon as Parang got home that day, she fell asleep without doing anything else.

 

The extreme tension had suddenly dissipated, bringing a wave of exhaustion.

 

There was, of course, no trace of Galecus.

 

Thus, it wasn’t until the next morning that Parang realized her broadcast had turned the world upside down.

 

And then,

 

– Rustle- Rustle –

 

– Crackle –

 

“This is Head. Beta Team, report your status.”

 

“Beta Team has arrived at the operation area. Entering with Alpha and Gamma, what the, who are you… Ugh!!”

 

– Thud. –

 

“Should we kill them?”

 

“Why ask the obvious?”

 

“Mmph!! Mmph!! Mmph!!!!”

 

“That’s nine now.”

 

“Any more?”

 

“No.”

 

“Nine S-ranks… They must have been in a hurry.”

 

– Crunch! –

 

“Gup, Ugh, Grrr….”

 

“Throw them into the sea.”

 

– Splash. –

 

– Crackle –

 

“This is Head. Beta Team, respond, Beta Team! Damn it, Chief!!!”

 

“What should we do with this radio?”

 

“Break it.”

 

– Crunch. –

 

“Should we throw this into the sea too?”

 

“No, bring it back with us.”

 

“Yes.”

 

Parang had no idea that nine S-rank hunters who appeared in front of her house that night were ambushed and thrown into the sea.

 

She had a blissful sleep for the first time in a while.