Chapter 241

Boom!

Boom!

A heavy sound reverberated.

As if something massive was being smashed against a dome deep in the ocean. Like the sound that resonates when you hit an empty metal ball with a hammer.

The sound and vibration that seemed to crush the harmful things inside the bell spread in all directions, and with each echo, the darkness surrounding William shook as if an earthquake had struck. And amidst that chaos, a bizarre voice—its gender indeterminate—could be heard.

“A hammer crashing down upon the surface! A punishment that shatters ships surfacing from the water! Floating debris of ships and blood! A whale’s axe that rips humans apart! Hvalness! Hvalness! Tear apart the sailors who sing of bravery, let them be food for the whales! Shatter the brave ships that sailed from the frozen sea to the monstrous sea, proving their uselessness! Using wicked magic, break their shields that envelop their bodies with evil power, leaving them bare to be torn apart!”

The bizarre voice fluctuated in pitch and tone. It sank when it should rise, and rose when it should sink. The delivery fluctuated between high and low, almost musical, rather than simply spoken, as if the speaker were switching between dialects, standard pronunciations, and ancient forms of speech, making it impossible to guess where they hailed from.

Moreover, the strange thing was that when one tried to listen intently, it became unclear, and when one tried to ignore it, it sounded like a mosquito buzzing in their ears. The more one ignored it, the clearer and louder the invocation grew, ultimately transforming into a thunderous shout.

And that thunder brought a flash of lightning!

Crash!

Boom!

What was merely vibration before had become a deafening roar, and the darkness that had merely shaken began to tear apart and be stained with a crimson glow.

Red.

It resembled red reeds, flailing stiff hairs as it swam outside the darkness, constantly banging on the small gaps as if trying to slip through.

Thud—

Thud—!

“Bring in the whale! Bring in the whale that eats corpses!”

Thud—!

“Have the whale pull people out from within!”

Thud—!

“Here is the whale. There are ghosts swimming in this world, and pitiful whales that have become evil spirits, swimming in the seas of humanity. Make this small whale fulfill its role! Make it shoulder its rightful duty, and with wicked magic, let it drag out the ignorant humans!”

Whoosh—!

As it realized it could not enter through the gap, the enormous thing banged itself against the darkness with a force compared to earlier. It then retreated slightly, starting to shove some pale entity into the crevice.

[Crack.]

[Creek.]

Boo—oo—oo—oo—oo—oo—!

The pale things crumpled and flattened, emitting bizarre screams as they squeezed through the gap. However, the red-haired monster outside the darkness urged them forward, shrieking ominously like a creature from the deep.

[Hiss, hehehe.]

Perhaps thanks to that urging?

The pale things succeeded in invading William’s mind through the gap.

They approached William with a twisted and crumpled shape, reaching out long hands to him. Using several hands, they opened his mouth wide like a door….

Glup.

And swallowed him whole.

*

When William opened his eyes, he found himself back in the mundane.

A gigantic bed that could easily fit ten people.

A mirror hanging from the ceiling.

The finest sheets and mattress from a brand that supplied the royal court.

Expensive furniture displayed everywhere.

And to top it off, a nameless woman—whom he had simply groaned at during the party—lay naked beside him.

It was a scene no different from usual.

“Aah, shit. What kind of dream was that….”

Looking at the all-too-familiar scene, William sighed in relief and got out of bed. Rubbing off the cold sweat that had soaked him, he tossed the wet pillow across the room as if it disgusted him.

Glup.

Then, he cracked open a beer he had left near the bed and gulped it down without hesitation.

“Hah.”

As the beer slid down his throat, warming his belly, William realized he had woken from a dream.

But perhaps it was due to the nightmare he had had?

His head was clouded, perhaps due to the poor quality of sleep, leaving behind a feeling of nauseating drowsiness instead of the pleasant kind that typically followed intimacy. Furthermore, despite wiping off the cold sweat, his body felt icy and sticky, with an unpleasant odor emanating from various parts, as if he hadn’t washed after their earlier rendezvous.

Normally, such smells wouldn’t bother him….

But why?

Right now, they felt especially bothersome.

He felt an urge to slap the woman sleeping beside him awake and throw her into the shower, demanding she wash herself off.

“Ugh.”

But instead of slapping the beautiful face next to him, he settled for spitting a glob of phlegm out the bed’s edge.

That figure of hers laying next to him was simply too stunning to treat so carelessly.

Just one encounter would have been worth it, considering how incredible her body was.

With a body like that, he could overlook having a nightmare.

Of course, if it happened twice, he wouldn’t hesitate to curse and throw her out.

“What a nightmare.”

As William pondered, he started to lie back down beside the woman, when suddenly he remembered the nightmare that had so unsettled his sleep.

But strangely, nothing came to mind.

Usually, those nightmares were vivid, the kind that lingered so clearly upon waking that they soured his mood; yet now, it was as if they were completely shrouded in fog.

It was odd.

However, William didn’t dwell on this oddity.

Dreams were just like that.

No matter how much one cries out not to have them, nightmares happen; so, forgetting one’s memory of it isn’t a big deal.

But as he thought about the nightmare, the desire for a second round faded away, leaving behind a lingering feeling of discomfort and a strong urge to shower.

“Tch.”

With a grim expression, William stepped out of bed. Perhaps finding it too tedious to undress before showering, he simply stripped off his clothes on the way to the shower.

Splash.

“Wait, what the hell is this?”

However, as soon as he turned on the shower, what erupted was not warm, steaming water but a brutally cold stream that felt like it would freeze him to the bone. It even had a strangely salty scent—it was undoubtedly sea water, not water typically used.

“Huh.”

Realizing this absurdity, William let out a hollow laugh.

It was as if he were in a makeshift shower facility at a rundown beach several decades ago, not in a 5-star hotel’s suite, where sea water came spraying out?

There was absolutely no way that made sense according to William’s logic.

To imagine a plumbing issue was ridiculous because this hotel was located inland.

He would have to drive for several hours just to reach the ocean from this hotel.

And yet sea water was pouring from the taps?

That made no sense at all.

Thus, there could only be one possibility.

“Is someone trying to fuck with me?!”

Someone had set up a prank targeting William.

William’s anger flared upon realizing that someone had dared to mess with him, and without holding back, he grabbed the showerhead and smashed it against the wall.

Bang!

Bang!

After smashing it a few times, the showerhead shattered, gushing water everywhere.

In frustration, William spat on the remains and then, still naked, stepped outside to contact the hotel front desk.

Ring—

Click.

“Hello?…”

“You Arsehole sucking motherfucking cunt!”

William hurled slurs the moment he got through.

And very nasty ones at that.

“What’s going on?…”

“Shut Your Fucking Mouth, bloody faggot!”

“…”

Surprised by the sudden onslaught of curses—ones he’d hardly ever heard the likes of—the staff fell silent, perhaps too astounded to respond.

Yet, even in silence, William’s tirade continued, the staff forced to endure being his verbal punching bag.

After venting his rage for a while, William finally calmed down enough to convey his message.

“The shower is spewing sea water, you bastard!”

“Oh, it’s about the sea water…?”

“Why is sea water coming out when there isn’t a beach nearby? How much are you trying to screw me over, you punk? Do you think I’m some kind of joke? I, William! Is the Artua Clan a laughingstock to you?! No, someone like you couldn’t possibly pull such a prank! Get the manager! Wait, just get the owner instead—get the owner!”

“Please, could you calm down for a moment? It appears the sea water issue is due to a fault in the plumbing. I’ll call the maintenance team to resolve this immediately.”

“What? Are you kidding? Where’s the nearest beach? This is…”

Feeling his anger boiling over again at the staff’s demeanor, William could hardly contain himself and felt the need to unleash yet another round of insults.

“I have no idea what you’re on about. Isn’t there a beach right next to us?”

“What?”

Yet, confronted by the staff’s sincerity—so serious it was almost comedic—William couldn’t continue his rant for the moment.

It felt like the staff was speaking as if he were the unreasonable one here.

“I don’t know why you’re acting like that. If you’re in doubt, why not look out the window?”

A sense of incongruity washed over him.

William grimaced and put down his smartphone, making his way to the window. He sharply pulled aside the blackout curtains, peering outside.

“Shit?”

There it was.

The sea.

The sea was right there.