I Became an Evolving Deep-Sea Creature-Chapter 26

Chapter 26. The Creature of the Moon
The next day, Celestia and Lucian returned home, while Ian came to the cave alone.
The magical luminescence that had flared at Lucian’s fingertips the day before faded after a short while. Nothing happened afterward, but it was certainly not something ordinary.
-Is he alright?
“Yes. He’s back to normal now. It’s never happened before, though.”
-It seems to have started after that child touched my forehead, where the Mantra is engraved.
“Mantra?”
Yul realized then that he had never spoken with Ian about Mantras before.
So, Yul explained what he knew about them: a kind of pattern engraved upon the body, like a tattoo that serves as a conduit for releasing magic.
Sea creatures generally used Mantras to perform magic.
The sand sharks that once dwelled in the Deep Sea did, and so did the orcas, each employing Mantras.
When the explanation was over, Ian murmured,
“It sounds different from the Mantras mentioned in human legends. But for Lucian’s hand to draw in magic like that… why could that be?”
-No one else has ever done that. Want to try touching it yourself?
Ian placed his hand upon the Mantra engraved on Yul’s forehead.
“I can feel the flow of magic, but from my hand… there’s nothing.”
-Exactly. The issue isn’t the Mantra, it’s you, Ian. He’s still only one year old, isn’t he?
“Yes.”
-Then something might have gone wrong. We’ll need to examine this carefully. Do you have any usable magic?
“I do. I once studied the ancient tomes back at the main house.”
Ian hadn’t simply gotten married and settled down over the past three years.
He had returned to his family estate, meticulously combed through the records of his ancestor Arthur Beltaine, and only then returned to the lighthouse.
“I discovered traces of our ancestor in the old underground archives of the manor. The next Formula I plan to restore is Devourment. This Formula invades the magic circuit of a perceived target and assimilates its intent.”
-Then we can use that to analyze Lucian’s constitution.
* * *
Yul received the magical materials Ian had brought from his family’s archives and learned the Formula as well.
-Are you sure it’s okay to share this with me?
“Yul, you’re helping me restore our Great Balance school’s magic. Of course it’s fine.”
Sharing a Formula that one had painstakingly uncovered was no simple matter.
If it had been Yul, he would’ve demanded some form of compensation before teaching it, because that was only fair.
But Ian shared it simply because they were studying magic together.
At first, Yul suspected that Ian might be using him for some sort of experiment, given Yul’s overwhelming amount of magic power. But there was nothing of the sort.
‘Why is this human so kind?’
A vague discomfort stirred in Yul’s chest. There should’ve been an exchange, something to give and take, but Yul had nothing to offer.
He didn’t even have any jewels left; he’d already handed them all over to the Kingdom of Frangia.
After the Perception, Connection, and Transmission of Thoughts Formulas, the fourth one was「Devourment」, and that was what Yul received.
He read through the translated copy of an ancient Beltaine manuscript where the Formula was recorded.
[The origin of Devourment begins with Connection. To gain dominance in the relationship between the self and the subject, the Devourment Formula is indispensable. From the magic circuit at the simplest level, to the soul at the highest, this Formula’s essence lies in consuming the subject and placing it under one’s own will.]
Through the Formula of Devourment, one invades and consumes the target’s inner being, their magic circuit, and even their soul. To Yul, it felt like an advanced, reinforced version of Connection.
While Connection could only detect superficial traits and be linked or severed briefly , Devourment required a long, sustained process, and once the bond was made, it could not easily be undone.
It also allowed observation of far deeper and more private aspects of the target.
After teaching Yul this Formula, Ian had refined and formalized it into a complete system himself.
“Yul, could you use the Devourment Formula on Lucian?”
-You’re not doing it yourself?
“As you know, in terms of magical aptitude, I’m far below you.”
That was true. Ian’s magic capacity and output were nowhere near Yul’s.
-But the Devourment Formula works better when there’s intimacy between the caster and the target. You’re family, so you can perform it far better than I can.
Indeed, the Formula functioned best when used by someone close to the subject. The more guarded the target, the slower the process.
In the end, Ian sighed.
“…Honestly, I was afraid I might make a mistake.”
-If you don’t do it, it’ll be harder to understand your son’s constitution. You’re the only one who can.
Ian brought Lucian into the cave and with Celestia and Yul watching, connected the Devourment Formula to him.
Falling into deep immersion, Ian succeeded in observing Lucian’s inner structure.
After a while, he opened his eyes and looked around.
“How was it?”
-How was it?
Ian spoke in a low, grim voice. His expression was dark.
“There are no magic circuits anywhere in Lucian’s body. Instead, they’re narrowly concentrated in his hands alone.”
-Hmm. And?
“But his magic core… it’s immense. About five times larger than mine.”
-…Can a human even withstand that?
Magic continuously flowed from the magic core, but its outlets—his arms—were far too small to release it all.
“As long as he doesn’t live as a mage, Lucian should be fine. The real problem is that his affinity for magic is far beyond normal limits. He reacted just from touching the Mantra engraved on your forehead.”
-That’s bad. What can we do?
Celestia and Ian, having learned the truth, both looked disheartened.
“There are only two options. Either lower his magic affinity, or reconstruct his magic circuits.”
-And reconstructing his circuits would mean—
“It would come with excruciating pain. In the process, his soul’s domain could collapse, and his magic core might be destroyed.”
The magic circuits were extensions of the core itself—bridges between the realms of soul and matter, inseparably connected.
To alter the circuits was, in essence, to alter the core. It was the destruction of the soul.
-Then what about improving his magic affinity?
“As far as I know, the only substance that can suppress magic is Krelsite—a rare metal said to have been used in the crowns of emperors.”
He added that the quantity was so scarce it had only ever been used for a few fragments of imperial regalia.
Celestia suddenly rose to her feet.
“I’ll make sure Lucian never comes into contact with anything magical again. I’ll get rid of every object imbued with magic around here!”
“Alright. Thank you, Celestia. We should probably move everything else to the lighthouse just to be safe.”
Listening to them, Yul realized that such measures were only temporary. Unless Lucian’s magic affinity or the magic circuits in his arms were fundamentally improved, the core issue would never truly be solved.
-Hmm. There are plenty of resources in the ocean that humans don’t know about. And the orcas and other deep-sea creatures must have their own knowledge. It’s possible that a substance like that Krelsite exists down there. Even if it doesn’t, there might be something similar. I’ll search for it.
Now that they understood the problem, they had to find a solution, and Yul decided to help them.
“Thank you, Yul.”
-Hmm. I’m only helping because you shared the Formula with me.
Though that was what Yul said, Ian simply smiled. He knew there was kindness behind those words.
For now, they concluded the matter by making sure Lucian avoided all contact with magically infused objects.
-Anyway, Ian, what was it you said you wanted to talk about?
“That… it’s about the moon.”
* * *
“At the top of the lighthouse, the magic lamp has been replaced with a celestial telescope.”
-You called it the Pathah Shile, right?
“Yes.”
When viewed from the coast outside the cave, Yul had seen it several times before.
The Pathah Shile was installed on the uppermost floor of the lighthouse. Whenever the moon grew full, Ian would open the dome and observe it through the telescope.
“Did you know that there’s an ocean on the surface of the moon?”
-That's the first I'm hearing of it.
“I discovered it while observing. That’s why the moon appears blue.”
-And?
“These days, whenever the moon draws close during the full phase, I’ve been observing it through the telescope. And this is the astronomical record I made.”
Ian took out a stack of papers and laid them before Yul.
-Huh? What’s this supposed to be?
That was Yul’s immediate reaction when he saw Ian’s astronomical log.
■■■■■■■■
The entire sheet was blackened with heavy ink stains. Every letter had been twisted beyond recognition.
“This is what I saw.”
-Something’s not right about it.
“I realized there’s something on that moon—something that interferes with the mind. So I used the Devourment Formula on myself.”
Normally, Devourment was cast upon others, but if one used it upon oneself…
-Ah, so you turned yourself into a kind of puppet.
“Yes. The aftereffects were severe, but I had to see it. This is what I recorded after placing myself under the spell—what I saw and moved to observe automatically.”
Yul’s eyes widened when he saw the sketch on the paper. It resembled a marine creature once known on Earth as a blue sea slug.
Except that where its face should have been, the body tapered smoothly into a narrow, streamlined shape—somewhat draconic, yet also serpentine.
-Hold on, you said you saw this through the telescope?
“That’s right. Which means this creature is massive—large enough to be visible from the moon through a telescope. It affects the observer’s mind, distorting perception. It swims through the moon’s ocean and battles another being, though I couldn’t capture the other on record.”
-An extraterrestrial creature, then.
Yul had once lived on Earth, a world where it was known there were no aliens.
Other than Arktar, the extraterrestrial lifeform he had encountered in his early days as a jelly octupus, he had never believed others existed.
It seemed he had been wrong.
Even the nearest moon harbored life.
“If you ever come across records of it, in some underwater library or from any historian you know, could you look into it for me?”
-I’ll find out what that creature is, eventually.
“Thank you.”
Yul felt a strange mix of emotions toward the creature—an instinctive pull and, at the same time, a deep disdain.
So this is what they call reverence, he thought.
“Anyway, Yul, how long do you plan on staying at the lighthouse?”
-Hmm. I’m not sure.
“You’re going to remain here?”
-Actually, I’ve been assigned as a Patroller of the Orca Tribe. I’ll probably serve for a few years, then… maybe leave the village.
Yul had gathered a wealth of information in the Orca Village. He hated owing anyone, so he planned to work there long enough to repay what he’d received, but beyond that, he wasn’t sure.
-I could stay in the Orca village longer, I guess. But… is that really my path?
“What do you want to do, Yul?”
-I don’t really want anything. I’m not desperate about restoring magic like you are. I don’t even know how I’m supposed to live.
That was the question Yul had been grappling with for a long time. Through magic stones, he had secured his lifespan.
But he had no purpose.
“Don’t overthink it, Yul. A great purpose is built from small ones. Is there something you want right now?”
-Hmm… survive as an orca?
“And after that? Would you want to mate with another orca and live with offspring?”
-Absolutely not.
With an orca? Ugh.
“Then it’s settled. Let’s aim for your next evolution. You evolved from a jelly octopus into an orca, didn’t you? Then you can become something else as well.”
-Yeah… for now, let’s make that the goal.
He didn’t know what awaited at the end of evolution or ascension—but he’d keep moving forward.
-I just hope the next evolution includes human as an option.
Yes. For now, that would be his short-term goal—to evolve into a human.