Ch.51Shark Sighting (3)

The pistols in Carmilla’s hands spit fire.

Bang! Bang!

“KRAAACK?!”

The shark monster, which had opened its mouth wide to charge, was shot and retreated backward instead.

It seemed to have the ability to enlarge its head momentarily to devour opponents.

However, interpreted differently, that meant there was a larger target area to hit.

‘This isn’t an unbeatable opponent. It seems strong for a Level 3 monster, but at best it’s only Semi-Level 2!’

“KRARARARAK!”

“Yeah, come on and attack if you can!”

Hadn’t Princess Hoshino previously defeated a wolf monster classified as Semi-Level 2 in G City?

If her master Janghoon’s girlfriend had accomplished such a feat, Carmilla couldn’t lose as her ‘rival.’

She fired her gun again at the shark monster that was baring its sharp teeth at her.

But as the saying goes, “Even a temple dog can recite poetry after three years,” the monster no longer recklessly took her attacks head-on.

Pitter-patter.

“?!”

It charged straight ahead, pretending to attack directly.

Then it suddenly changed direction, using the glass wall displaying fish as a springboard to jump around.

“That thing… is it planning to flood this place?”

If so, that would be dangerous.

As a monster from the fish family, the shark monster would naturally be stronger underwater.

If she recklessly fired bullets at the aquarium, this place would soon become a fish paradise.

And that was exactly what the monster was aiming for.

“Grrrr. Kekeke!”

“Oh, laughing at me?”

Carmilla briefly lowered her gun that she had been aiming.

The shark monster, clinging to the glass wall, started chuckling mockingly.

Normally, monsters weren’t capable of such intelligent thinking.

While an ‘orca,’ known as the bully of the sea, might be different, a shark-turned-monster shouldn’t possess such knowledge.

The fact that it had such cunning thoughts suggested only one possibility.

‘It must have received power from a higher-level monster!’

That meant right now, at least one more monster was hiding somewhere in this aquarium.

A chill ran down her spine.

‘Janghoon!’

If that was true, it was serious trouble.

While she, as a hero, could handle herself, the groom-to-be would stay in the aquarium until everyone was evacuated.

Knowing Janghoon’s personality, he would prioritize saving people even at the cost of his own life.

“Change of plans…”

“Kruk?”

“I was originally going to finish you off with minimal damage to the aquarium, but that might take too long.”

The hero’s creed.

The first rule:

Even if it costs your life, always protect innocent lives.

The first thing you hear when becoming a hero at the Hero Association auditorium.

However, with personal feelings now involved, Carmilla had no restraint left.

“You want the seawater behind that glass wall, don’t you?”

Click.

“K-Kruk?!”

“Then eat your fill.”

When working as a hero, you naturally receive receipts for damages you cause.

Of course, most repair costs are covered by the Hero Association.

But occasionally, if the destruction is excessively large, complaints are inevitable.

And now was one of those ‘inevitable’ times.

“This is Allah’s magic wand, you bastard.”

The pistols in her hands had disappeared.

The weapon mounted on Carmilla’s shoulder was none other than an RPG bazooka, the epitome of mystical weaponry.

Of course, it wasn’t an ordinary military model.

It was a magic wand designed specifically for monsters, usable only by her.

“Die.”

KABOOM!

With that brief greeting, light flashed from Carmilla’s shoulder.

The projectile that followed collided with the shark monster standing on the glass wall, and as it had hoped, the aquarium interior instantly became a fish paradise.

Of course, there wasn’t a single fish swimming around in this grilled fish paradise.

“Phew… Did I get it?”

The magic resurrection spell.

“Did I get it?”

As per the unwritten rule, the shark monster should have revived like a dog after Carmilla said those words.

“Kegek…”

However, perhaps because it had been hit by Allah’s magical RPG, the charred monster lay with its eyes rolled back, unlikely to rise again.

***

Boom.

The aquarium interior shook momentarily from Carmilla’s magical RPG.

However, the two monsters on the opposite side didn’t feel the vibration at all.

Because in this scene, such vibrations were rather expected.

“Megalodon.”

“KRAAAAA!”

The Deep Sea monster formed the hand sign for “benevolence” (仁) in the air like a ninja.

Immediately, a portal opened in empty space with a massive stream of water, and the jaws of a gigantic Megalodon—an ancient fish species that would make modern sharks look like clownfish—instantly swallowed Kang Janghoon.

“How dare… HOW DARE a mere monster eat my children!”

The Deep Sea monster.

She loved the ocean so much that she wanted to kill humans who polluted it, as well as those who cleaned it.

To Deep Sea, monsters unrelated to the ocean were truly abominations she simply wanted to destroy.

“When you fall into the other world, apologize to the young pollack.”

Monsters, what terrible creatures they were.

Humans at least had respect and reverence for the ocean.

Since ancient times, their mythologies revered the ‘sea god’ as much as the sun god.

That’s how sacred the ocean was to humans.

But monsters?

What about these bastards?

Respect and consideration for the ocean? They had none of that shit.

These sons of bitches were cursed beings who wouldn’t bat an eye at causing all sorts of harm to the ocean if it meant slaughtering humanity.

In fact, half of the planet’s oceans were polluted because of their kind.

And now, beyond mere pollution, they even cooked and ate the small sprouts growing in the sea in the most cruel way—as “pollock roe.”

“Galon! Chew thoroughly!”

“Galon galon!”

The Megalodon, extinct not because of humans but due to environmental factors.

However, Galon the Megalodon, revived through Deep Sea’s powers, followed its master’s orders and chomped down hard on the monster in its mouth.

And consequently lost all its teeth.

“G-Galoon…!”

“Huh? G-Galon!”

Galon spat out Kang Janghoon like popped corn, now toothless.

Looking at her pet Megalodon, Deep Sea’s expression grew even darker.

“AAAAH! How dare you do this to an already extinct species, not even an endangered one?!”

“Kruruk…”

‘No, that was my—’

“Shut up! I don’t know who you are, but I’ll kill you right here!”

With those murderous words, she began forming hand signs again.

Had she forgotten even her polite lady concept to the point of dropping honorifics?

The next attack from the Deep Sea monster was directed at her front.

She summoned not just one but multiple massive portals around Kang Janghoon, from which giant octopus tentacles emerged.

“Kraken! Kill him right now!”

In the past, when navigation was underdeveloped.

The legendary monster feared by all sailors.

The Kraken.

In modern terms, an octopus monster.

Kang Janghoon was instantly bound from all directions by the tentacles of the partially summoned octopus monster.

“How is it? The Kraken’s power isn’t as weak as the Megalodon’s, is it?”

“Grrrr…”

“Despite appearances, that child is classified as a ‘Level 1 monster’ among humans.”

An octopus is Level 1?

Maybe because it wasn’t a monster that appeared in the original work.

This was quite unexpected.

After all, ‘octopus sashimi’ is delicious, isn’t it?

‘Or is it because <Monster Front> was a “somewhat godly game” that was going to be serviced in the West too?’

Well, unlike the East where people eat almost anything offered, the West has quite a few seafoods they don’t eat, like octopus, blue crab, or seaweed.

It makes sense, but having grown up in the Okami family with Eastern motifs, I didn’t realize octopus would be such a divisive food in this world.

No, seeing that the octopus monster is classified as danger level 1, I cautiously guess it must be as unpopular as ‘coconut juice’ here.

‘…Or maybe octopus tastes different here?’

“It seems you can’t even speak because your windpipe is being squeezed.”

Meanwhile, having regained her composure while watching the immobilized Kang Janghoon, Deep Sea spoke in a calmer voice, recalling her dignity as a lady.

“Mr. Janghoon, I hate monsters.”

“Kruk?”

“If they’re not monsters born from the terror of the sea, I want to ‘exterminate’ them all!”

Wait a minute.

What did she just say?

She hates monsters this much despite being one herself?

‘This… is a setting I never saw in the original work.’

Naturally, in the original work, there were no humans capable of monsterization.

So there was never an opportunity to hear Deep Sea’s true feelings, fueled by the shock of pollock roe being eaten by monsters.

“Trash who don’t care about polluting the sea as long as they can kill humans! I have no obligation to tolerate such lowlifes just because they’re the same species!”

The Deep Sea monster.

Perhaps because 70% of Earth is ocean?

It seemed her patience with the inconveniences caused by other monsters had long since reached its breaking point.

Just like now.

I should have realized it when she tried to brutally murder a fellow monster just for eating some pollock roe.

This is an opportunity!

‘Maybe… just maybe she could become an ally?’

Though it remained an unresolved plot point as a MacGuffin, the Deep Sea monster, three years later, would suddenly become a mute Semi-Special Grade monster due to ‘some incident’ and meet a miserable end.

What if we could bring her to our side early, assuming she was betrayed by her own kind?

Kang Janghoon’s mind began racing with hopeful circuits, and fortunately, he still had a ‘final card’ to play for persuasion.

‘When it comes to the most terrifying fear in the ocean, there’s only one thing.’

Think about it.

Why do people fundamentally feel things like thalassophobia?

The deep sea isn’t just the name of a neighborhood restaurant; it’s not a place people can casually visit, yet they fear it.

Because if they ever entered the deep sea, they might ‘disappear’ there.

When it comes to the ocean, the incidents that cause the most casualties are disappearances.

And the Deep Sea monster, who in fan creations of the original work had caused the extinction of many polar bears.

“Krururuk.”

‘Wait a moment.’

“Hmm?”

“Kruk. Kruk.”

‘I might be able to introduce you to a very nice woman.’

“…? I am a woman?”

I decided to offer my subordinate—Disappearance—who was probably just playing ranked games in her dorm room right now, as a sacrifice.