Although the Swollen Monsters were quite powerful in battle, their strength seemed to come at a cost. They hadn't suffered any serious injuries, yet after fighting for a while, they would collapse.
So even as the Fishmen were driven back again and again, their numbers dwindled rapidly.
Still, they had a slight advantage. Before long, the Fishmen here couldn't hold out any longer. They wailed and fled in all directions.
One Fishman happened to run into Theus, who was hiding nearby. It let out a howl and hurled the steel trident in its hand at him.
It was so fast that Theus felt he couldn't dodge. He was about to try twisting away from the blow when a furious shout rang out behind him.
Ash charged forward, caught the trident, and drove it into the Fishman's chest with a reverse thrust.
The Fishman let out a shrill wail. Dark green blood poured from its chest as it struggled and sank toward the seabed.
"Impressive..." Theus couldn't help marveling.
The Swollen Monsters in the distance noticed them and gathered around.
"Ash!"
"You're still alive!?"
"The Fishman clan warriors will be here soon. We have to get out of here!"
"Where to? There's nowhere left for us in the Storm Ocean! We're doomed!"
"What choice do we have? The Fishmen are determined to wipe us out. Are we just supposed to sit here and wait to die?!"
"Then let's kill a few more Fishmen!"
"Quiet!!!!" Ash raised the trident, its blood drifting through the seawater. He raised his voice. "I've found a way to lift the curse. We need to enter the Abyssal Trench!"
He pointed toward the seabed not far away. A vast fissure stretched across almost the entire ocean floor, like a twisted scar, as if it might tear the sea in two.
So that was the Abyssal Trench? It looked like some kind of rift in the seabed.
The Swollen Monsters fell silent for an instant, then erupted into an uproar.
"Lift the curse!? What did you say? Lift the curse!??"
"Can the curse really be lifted? Has the prophecy come true?"
"The Abyssal Trench... I've heard it's a place where life cannot survive. Every creature that goes down there goes mad. No one ever comes back alive... We..."
"Wait, the prophecy said the gods came from above the land. This human..."
Theus hadn't made any effort to hide. The Swollen Monsters had noticed him long ago, but hadn't paid him any mind since he seemed harmless.
Now, all kinds of gazes turned toward Theus, most of them suspicious.
That was fair. If he put himself in their place, he wouldn't readily believe that some outsider was a god, either. But why was Ash so certain? Come to think of it, she had been sure of him ever since they formed the Symbiotic Pact.
Ash slammed the trident against the seabed. When the others had quieted down, he spoke loudly:
"My people, there's no time to explain. The enemy will be here any moment. We have to stand together!"
"I know you have questions, but we have no other path left. Trust me, trust the prophecy, trust the gods. We only have to reach the Abyssal Trench to lift the curse!"
"Since we chose to fight, then we fight to the very end! Better to die on our feet than live on our knees!"
Ash looked around at them, his eyes full of resolve.
"And we're not heading toward a dead end. The pressure in the Abyssal Trench is fatal to other races, but for us, it's a chance to transform!"
"For a thousand years, we've been enslaved!"
"Now, let our flesh and blood carve a path for those who come after us!"
Ash raised the trident. Emotion surged in every pair of eyes. No one spoke. The silence was like that of a volcano about to erupt.
"My people, the choice is yours!!"
Ash said nothing more. He only closed his eyes... The Swollen Monsters around him seemed to close theirs at the same moment.
A ritual before battle?
Just a moment later, they opened their eyes again. Their expressions varied, but they all looked toward the Abyssal Trench.
Theus was stunned. Had they already reached an agreement?
They had been arguing in chaos just moments ago, and now they'd closed their eyes once and united as one?
Something must have happened when they all shut their eyes, allowing them to make a decision so quickly. Whatever disagreements they'd had before, they could work together now.
It must have been another kind of Transcendence ability.
But there was no time to get to the bottom of it.
That ability was efficient and swift. If this race weren't hampered by the water pressure and so small in number, they would make excellent warriors.
Theus suddenly looked up into the distance. The other Swollen Monsters did too.
One thing was certain: they needed to move now. The Fishmen in the distance, who had been holding back, suddenly began cheering. Theus looked where they were pointing and saw a ship approaching from afar.
A ship sailing along the ocean floor.
It was riddled with rotten holes and had no sails, but a flag flew above it.
A black flag, bearing a cutlass thrust through a hole.
No one was at the helm. The wheel turned on its own, as though invisible sailors were steering the ship.
A Ghost Ship? The words suddenly surfaced in Theus's mind.
He instinctively felt that something was wrong. They were on the ocean floor—why was there a ship down here? The Fishmen were cheering, so it was clearly here to help them.
And that Ghost Ship... For some reason, he felt he'd seen it somewhere before.
"My lord, please come with us into the Abyssal Trench!"
The Swollen Monsters didn't linger. After a brief discussion, they gathered together and rushed down toward the Abyssal Trench.
They plunged into the depths, while the strange wooden ship came to a halt.
The next moment, a tremendous crash sounded in the distance.
Theus was descending quickly into the Abyssal Trench with the others. Looking back, he saw countless rainbow-colored trails streaking across the water above like fireworks, rushing toward them.
The fireworks bursting beneath the sea illuminated the Abyssal Trench for a moment. But Theus, right in their path, had no time to admire them. An indescribable terror seized his heart like a cold hand.
Theus felt his instincts screaming in alarm. Vague premonitions kept warning him.
He would die. If those things hit him, he would certainly die!
The Swollen Monsters exchanged glances and split into two groups without hesitation. Some continued down into the Abyssal Trench, while the others turned and charged toward the rainbow trails.
Ash rushed over, grabbed Theus's hand, and pulled him farther down.
"They..."
Ash didn't answer. Bitter seawater streamed past Theus's side as Ash simply kept pulling him deeper into the Abyssal Trench.
Theus didn't resist. He only looked back in silence at the figures charging to meet the attack.
Their limbs were swollen and grotesque, their eyes little lumps buried in folds of flesh, yet those eyes brimmed with fire.
It was the blaze of vengeance, mingling with the fire of the Ghost Ship's shots, as if they wanted every living thing on the ocean floor to witness it.
Theus widened his eyes, trying to burn this moment into his memory.
Just before the two sides collided, the Swollen Monsters' bodies suddenly swelled several times over. Blazing white light burst from within them.
For a moment, the whole world seemed to fall silent. Everything moved in slow motion. Theus stared fixedly as an immense sphere of light appeared, reflected in his pupils.
The next moment, an earth-shattering explosion swept toward them!
Boom!!!!
The tremendous blast forced the seawater into ring after ring of ripples, then sent them surging outward.
At that moment, a sun seemed to rise from the ocean floor. Its light pierced through layer upon layer of seawater, illuminating the night sky above the surface for a brief instant.
The Ghost Ship turned hard to one side, but was soon swallowed by the sphere of light.
The Fishmen in the distance looked horrified and fled frantically from the spreading shock wave.
But it was already too late. Like insects struggling in vain on a beach, they were instantly buried beneath the onrushing waves.
Boom!!!!!
Most of the shock wave burst outward from the Abyssal Trench. Only a small portion forced its way inside, hurtling toward Theus and the others as they descended.
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