Ch.261# 261. The Corrupted Abyss

I explored the depths of the abyssal sea with Nir.

The merfolk turned out to be surprisingly useful.

“There are fish over there.”

“That area is dangerous.”

“This area… um… is the dwelling of pufferfish with spines… it’s dangerous to enter.”

“Pufferfish? Are you kidding? That poison is insanely valuable. Lead the way.”

The merfolk’s ultrasonic abilities had evolved to an extreme degree to help these frail humans survive in the abyssal depths.

The merfolk had undergone two evolutionary adaptations: one was the development of a mermaid’s tail for their lower body to swim well and escape in water, and the other was this ultrasonic ability, which played an extremely important role as a means of escape.

For humans, who are small in stature and incomparably weaker than the giant fish and monsters of the deep sea, it’s practically impossible to see a threatening creature and escape.

The mermaid’s tail is just a means to swim in the desired direction at a reasonable speed, not something that lets them zip around like a motorboat.

Moreover, due to human characteristics, it’s impossible to detect predators underwater using smell or hearing, forcing reliance on sight. If detected first by monsters approaching with their keen senses, there’s essentially no path left but to become prey.

That’s why this ultrasonic ability developed.

I didn’t know before, but the two small, cute antennae slightly protruding from their heads are constantly feeling around, emitting ultrasonic waves to gather information.

According to Nir, they can detect threats up to several kilometers away, so they rarely face danger.

“Then why didn’t you run away when you saw me? Am I not threatening enough?”

“T-that’s because you… weren’t detected by my ultrasonic waves. I don’t know how you did it…”

Whether visible or not, the fact that she charged at me upon seeing me suggests she thought she could handle me.

Anyway, I roamed throughout the abyssal sea with Nir, gathering various resources and hunting monsters.

Nir kept telling me we should avoid monsters, but that only served as a good hunting signal for me.

After being dragged along several times to face enormous monsters, Nir went on strike, refusing to guide me anymore.

“Oh really? Then I guess I’ll have no choice but to report to your chief that you failed to properly attend to a guest and have you punished.”

“Eek…!”

“Or should I take you as my concubine and bring you to land? I wonder if a child between a merfolk and a human would be human or merfolk. I’m getting very curious.”

“N-no!! It’s over there!”

As we traveled like this, we eventually reached the area of dense chaotic energy where the corrupted abyss was located.

“It’s really dangerous beyond this point. Even my ultrasonic waves are blocked here…”

“Don’t worry. I’m not planning to enter today.”

“R-right?”

I released Nir, who was completely terrified and trying desperately to move away from the area permeated with dense chaotic energy, and said:

“Go back and tell them I’ll keep my promise soon.”

“What? W-wait!! No…!”

Then I entered the corrupted abyss filled with dense chaotic energy.

I can’t stay in the abyssal sea forever.

I need to progress quickly to reach the level 10 biome.

Of course, it wouldn’t be bad to invest more time in completing the merfolk-related subquests to gain their trust.

But there’s no real need to spend a long time earning their trust.

“Aaaahh!!”

Nir’s scream of mental breakdown faded in the distance.

————————

Nir returned to the merfolk city, trembling violently.

“Nir. Are you okay?”

The merfolk worried about her, but she couldn’t hear them.

She hurried to the chief’s house and said:

“Mother…”

“Nir. Where is our guest? Why are you alone?”

“Alone… they went in alone… into the Void Sea…”

“…They truly went in alone.”

“Will they be alright…?”

“Well… they are certainly very strong, and the fact that they entered these abyssal depths in a human body is remarkable, but I don’t know.”

The chief was confused.

There was no prophecy or anything like that.

It was just that when she saw a human visiting the merfolk in these deep waters, she suddenly recalled the stories passed down by previous chiefs.

A human who would save them.

A human who would help them return to the surface someday.

Since the merfolk were already too far gone to return to the surface, they had come to view humans as almost mythical beings.

A species that cannot survive underwater.

A species that cannot breathe or withstand the pressure in the deep sea.

That’s why.

That’s why the merfolk chief listened to the human’s story.

There must be a clear reason.

For coming all this way.

And conveniently, the human had offered to solve the merfolk’s problem.

There was no reason to refuse.

The merfolk didn’t even dare to enter the corrupted abyss where even ultrasonic waves were blocked.

Even the deep-sea monsters and fish that reigned as perfect predators over the merfolk were desperately avoiding going anywhere near that corrupted abyss.

If the human could solve it, the chief felt she could trust them.

After all, although she hadn’t told the other merfolk yet, the dense chaotic energy was severely threatening the merfolk’s existence.

The strengthened monsters weren’t the only problem.

The ominous energy mixing with the seawater was gradually changing the merfolk.

They might not notice it themselves, but they were becoming more ferocious and aggressive.

Accidents that shouldn’t happen were occurring one by one.

Rather than slowly perishing like this, it might be better to entrust their fate to an outsider.

The die was cast.

There wasn’t much time left.

Just wait a little longer.

If it doesn’t work, we’ll have to consider migration.

Though she wondered if there was anywhere in this sea they could escape from that ominous energy.

In fact, she had already been considering migration and looking for a place as far as possible from the corrupted abyss.

For several years she had been trying to prepare, but even the farthest places were being infiltrated by the dense chaotic energy while they prepared. She realized that no matter how far they fled, the spreading energy would leave them nowhere to escape.

“Please…”

Could a human really solve this chaotic energy that was like a natural disaster?

She didn’t have high expectations.

So when the human reappeared days later, she swallowed her bitterness.

They had survived, but must have fled.

But the returning human brazenly declared:

“I kept my promise. You’re all my slaves now.”

“…”

The chief didn’t verbally express her disbelief.

There was a simple way to verify.

She sent several merfolk to check and report back.

And a couple of hours later:

“It’s gone!! The dark energy has disappeared!!”

The two merfolk scouts who had gone to investigate reported back, barely able to catch their breath.

“How can this be…!”

Unbelievable news.

The chief had no choice but to acknowledge it.

“I recognize your achievement. Is that what you want from us merfolk?”

A benefactor.

Of course, nothing had happened to the merfolk yet.

They could have fled, and if they had gone far enough, the currently living merfolk might have somehow managed to survive.

But merfolk have long lifespans.

They had barely established their footing here and maintained their lineage over several generations.

Could they establish a new settlement and rebuild this city elsewhere?

In a place where they didn’t know what predators might be lurking?

The chief had considered all this, but the other merfolk didn’t seem to have thought that far.

“Chief! This is wrong. Slaves?”

“We should treat them as friends of the merfolk…”

Before the chief could respond,

the head of the merfolk voicing his opinion fell off.

“…!”

It fell so naturally, as if it had just been sitting there loosely, that for a moment everyone was too confused to react.

And then the human’s smiling words left the merfolk speechless.

“Anyone else who doesn’t want to live can speak up. I’m busy, so I’d like to settle this all at once.”

“…”

There are no merfolk here who don’t want to live.

If they didn’t want to live, they wouldn’t be hiding here—they could go outside and become a meal for one of the many predators, serving as nutrients at least, but why would they be hiding here alive?

The chief sighed.

As expected, there was an ulterior motive.

What could be the reason for wanting to enslave the merfolk?

“What would you have us do?”

“I’m glad we understand each other.”

The human made their demands:

“Collect the valuable resources of this sea and send them up. Simple, right? Catch monsters if you can. If you do that well, even though you’re slaves, you can live just like you do now. No, it might even be better because I’ll come to help if there’s danger or need. And occasionally guide VIP guests for deep-sea tourism services. Not difficult, right?”

“…”

No matter how she looked at it, this human was incomprehensible.