Sea Monster

Yoshii Teru hurried to the gangway, lowered his head, and looked down.

A strange patch of black had appeared in the blue ocean. It filled his entire field of vision, dark beyond measure, with rows of peaks rising across it.

An underwater continent?

The thought flashed through Yoshii Teru's mind, but he quickly dismissed it. This was deep sea, not a beach. He wasn't Superman. How could he possibly see a continent hidden beneath the water?

The sailor who had first noticed something wrong pointed at the blackness below and shouted, "Hey, guys! Is that black thing moving?"

"Uh... it does look like it's moving. We haven't run into a Sea Monster, have we?"

Someone else picked up the conversation, and Yoshii Teru's eyelids twitched.

Tales of Sea Monsters had always circulated among fishermen and sailors.

The Sea Siren, the Norwegian Kraken, the Deep-Sea Serpent... An encounter with any one of them meant everyone aboard would be fighting for their lives, with little chance of escape.

Half a month ago, he wouldn't have given it a thought. Everything he had learned growing up told him those creatures were only legends. Real Sea Monsters didn't exist; if they did, someone would have found one by now.

But things were different now. Gods existed. Who could still say for certain that Sea Monsters didn't? Perhaps no one had ever found one because everyone who saw one had been eaten.

Boom!!!

The world lurched around them. The sailors on deck lost their footing under the tremendous jolt and tumbled to the floor.

"Old Gil, you son of a bitch, do you even know how to steer? You hit a reef! If you don't buy us drinks when we get back, we're all going to screw your wife."

"Quintagint, are you stupid? How could there be a reef in these waters?"

"If we didn't hit a reef, what, did we hit a monster?"

"Stop arguing! Samba Mujinga fell overboard! Somebody help!"

Voices clamored across the deck.

A sailor who was close to Samba Mujinga threw down a life ring and rescue rope, then frantically started hauling him back. The next moment, he saw something he would never forget.

A few dozen meters behind Samba Mujinga, the seawater suddenly parted. Rolling white waves caught the dazzling sunlight and threw off strange glimmers. A gigantic monster's head slowly rose from the depths, sending ripples across the surface like raindrops in a downpour.

It was the head of a serpent as large as a ten-thousand-ton ship. Its vicious, suffocating eyes reflected every terrified, bedraggled sailor on deck.

"Joyce, you son of a bitch! Hurry up and pull your pal Samba Mujinga aboard!" Samba Mujinga shouted, clutching the life ring with one hand and the rescue rope with the other.

The sailor called Joyce dropped the rope in terror and scrambled toward the cabin.

"Ma... Maria above."

"Oh my God..."

The sailors on deck snapped out of their stupor and raced for the cabin, wishing they had a few extra pairs of arms and legs.

In the water, Samba Mujinga stared in astonishment as his coworkers fled. He had never known they could run so fast. They could practically compete in the hundred-meter sprint at the Olympics.

But why the hell are you running? Somebody help me! I can't climb up by myself!

He was about to take out his phone and call the captain or first mate when he felt the current behind him surge, as though a wave were rolling in.

"Has the wind picked up?"

Samba Mujinga turned his head. Then he saw the most terrifying sight in the world.

"Aaah~~!!"

"Samba Mujinga is still out there."

Joyce and the other sailors hid in the cabin. Its sealed walls and cold steel plates gave them a sliver of security. Reason told them those things wouldn't do any good, but to hell with reason.

"Forget him. There's a monster out there. Samba Mujinga is dead. Someone tell the captain to get us out of here. I don't want to stay another second."

"I can't walk. My legs have gone weak. I've got no strength at all. You go."

One sailor slumped to the floor as he spoke.

"I twisted my ankle just now. It hurts too much to walk. Joyce, why don't you go?"

"Ah, my leg hurts so bad. I twisted my ankle too."

Joyce clutched his leg and let out a low groan. He had no intention of going out. For all he knew, the Sea Monster was already aboard, and stepping outside would make him its next snack.

"Enough excuses. Who's going to call? I dropped my phone outside. Maria above, Sea Monsters really exist. When I get back, I'm applying for a job at a fish farm. I'm never going out to sea again."

"I have a phone. You call."

"Merciful Aegir, great god of the deep, please don't let the Sea Monster eat me. From now on, I'll offer you a sacrifice you like before every voyage. If you're not satisfied, I won't sail."

The sealed cabin grew restless, but even then, the sailors kept their voices low. No one shouted.

None of them knew whether shouting would draw the Sea Monster's attention.

In monster movies, the people who screamed the loudest often died first.

His coworkers' fear and panic got to Yoshii Teru too.

The sudden appearance of the Sea Monster immediately made him think of divine punishment.

My coworkers' slander must have angered the god. That's why he sent a Sea Monster to punish us. It has to be. There's no other explanation.

"Great Amenominakanushi, my coworkers didn't believe in you. They slandered you, so they deserve this Disaster. But I'm innocent. Please don't let the Sea Monster eat me."

He gripped his protective charm tightly and prayed in his heart, hoping the god would hear him.

In the wheelhouse, Captain Yano Michihiko lowered his voice. "...Old Gil, still haven't reached the Iceland Coast Guard?"

The moment the Sea Monster had surfaced, Captain Yano Michihiko had crouched down so it wouldn't see him.

"I got through, but they suggested I see a psychiatrist."

Old Gil sounded aggrieved.

Yano Michihiko stared at him. "What did you tell them?"

"I told them we'd run into a Sea Monster."

"You..." Captain Yano Michihiko nearly swore. "...Why did you tell them we'd encountered a Sea Monster? Just say we're in distress at sea and request assistance."

"Get them here first. Contact every agency like the Iceland Coast Guard in the other countries too. I'll take responsibility for whatever happens!"