I Became an Evolving Deep-Sea Creature-Chapter 47

Chapter 47. Hive (3)
Inside the sailing ship, there was a large quantity of explosives that Marchand’s group had loaded aboard.
It was far more than the amount of gunpowder normally used on a sailing ship, and Yul had prepared it in advance for self-destruction.
The explosion inflicted tremendous pain on the Hive, and amid the massive confusion it caused, Yul forced his way through the tentacles and successfully rescued Nugh.
‘No injuries on me.’
Thanks to the invincibility granted by Madness, which could even withstand the pressure of the Deep Sea, he was completely unharmed.
‘But on Nugh’s back…….’
Yul looked at the purple tentacle embedded in the center of Nugh’s back.
Even after escaping the Hive’s threat, it clung tightly to Nugh’s back, refusing to come off as if it had fused with him.
‘What should I do?’
At that moment, within Yul’s detection range, he discovered an orca in the distance. It was an orca twice the size of the others.
It spoke from that direction.
-You there! Are you the one who blew up the Hive?
-I’m a Patroller. Who are you?
-I am the Conqueror of the North, Gehenna! I heard the explosion and came to see. That was a bold move.
Gehenna—one of the Great Powers?
For the first time, Yul was seeing the strongest warrior of the Orca Tribe, whom he had only heard of in rumors.
He was about twice Yul’s size, his entire body covered in scars. And most importantly, there was a gaping hole blown clean through his left flank.
A fatal wound that would have killed a normal orca without question.
-Are you all right? That wound.
-Ah, this? It’s bearable.
Magic had been wrapped around the area of the wound, crudely sealing it, but no matter how one looked at it, it seemed like nothing more than a temporary measure.
-So you’re the one who rescued Nugh… In any case, you said you’re a Patroller? I’ll guide you to where the Warrior Corps is.
Yul followed Gehenna.
The Warrior Corps and the Patrollers were in an underwater cave that had been turned into a hideout.
-Borgin?
-Yul! You were alive!
He found Borgin, whom he had been separated from earlier. And further inside, he also found Tuania.
-Yul? Grandfather?
-You, your injuries…
Tuania was covered in wounds, and half of the fin on her back had been torn away.
-More importantly, Grandfather…
-In that state, there’s no way.
Gehenna, who had followed them in, spoke.
-Just like the other creatures the Hive absorbed, Nugh has ended up in that condition.
-…What are you saying? Was I too late?
-Once it reaches that state, Nugh’s body will soon collapse. There’s no way to completely remove the Hive’s tentacle. If you try to rip it out by force, it’ll damage his internal organs as well.
-That can’t be…
Yul’s pupils wavered. Gehenna continued in a heavy tone.
-Nugh stayed behind alone to save me… He saved all of us.
* * *
The Hive moved after seeing a blue light shining from a faraway place. That light would lead all things toward the destiny of Ascension.
Having just risen from the deep sea, it writhed as it began absorbing everything around it.
[Absorbing seaweed biological tissue]
[Increase in body surface area]
[Absorbing turtle armor]
[Enhancement of body material]
[Absorbing orca muscles]
[Increase in muscle activity]
[Absorbing octopus tentacles]
[Improvement in major biological tissue transformation]
[Absorbing herring]
[Creation of oxygen-breathing organs]
[Absorbing kelp]
[Photosynthesis function]
Absorbing everything in its path, it formed the organs it required.
It was not merely absorbing. It reorganized what it took in and made it its own.
Biological tissues underwent rampant transformation.
[Increase in energy activity]
[High-efficiency solar energy conversion]
[Conversion of useless matter into energy]
In the end, the Hive transformed into something like a mass of purple flesh, and it moved slowly, yet with a clear and definite purpose.
And blocking its path were the orcas.
The orca Warrior Corps, arriving with support from their tribe, were shocked when they discovered the Hive lurking stealthily on the sea surface.
They engaged in a fierce battle. At first, the Hive nearly collapsed under the orcas’ assault.
But the Hive absorbed the orcas.
And as it adapted to them, it changed its tactics. This was not a movement born of intelligence, but of instinct.
It developed its tentacles to fire them like projectiles, or snatched orcas and fused them directly into its own outer skin.
-Hive!
-Nugh! Take the Warrior Corps and run!
-I can’t do that, Gehenna! You’ve suffered a fatal wound!
After the brutal battle, Gehenna had exhausted all of his strength, yet he could not defeat the Hive.
-Go. Take the other Warrior Corps members with you as well. I’ll hold this place.
-…Nugh, you will die.
-I was prepared from the beginning. From the moment I entrusted my body to the Warrior Corps, I resolved to throw away my life for honor and glory, and for the prosperity of our race.
-……!
-My only regret is that I’ll be leaving without meeting that child, Yul.
-You mean that “special child”?
Nugh smiled faintly and replied.
-Please take good care of Tuania. Now, go! Ugh!
At the very last moment, Nugh sacrificed himself in Gehenna’s stead to save him.
He shoved Gehenna away and took the full blow of a tentacle strike.
Resisting even in that state, Nugh shouted to Gehenna.
-Go!
-Nugh!
-This is how the Warrior Corps meets its end! I, Nugh, have fulfilled my calling…!
Gehenna retreated, withdrawing from the battlefield for a time, but he did not flee. Instead, he circled the area, rallying the remaining Warrior Corps.
With Nugh gone, his role was to preserve the wounded Warrior Corps as best he could.
* * *
-Nugh is dead. This is nothing more than a shell.
-That can’t be…
Just as Gehenna said, Nugh’s body soon began to collapse slowly along with the tentacle.
Yul stared blankly at the sight.
-Nugh…
-Grandfather…!
Tuania stayed by Nugh’s side, watching his final moments.
-Nugh…
-The greatest warrior, Nugh, has died...
-Nugh saved me once…
At Nugh's passing, other orcas gathered. Wounded warriors and the Patrollers who had barely survived all came together to look upon Nugh’s remains.
A quiet funeral was held.
No one showed their emotions, but everyone knew what they had to do.
They had to bring down the Hive.
There was no one here consumed by blind rage. What they possessed instead was cold resolve and the anger that supported it.
All living beings die someday.
While one cannot choose when they are born, one can choose how they die.
That was how the orcas thought. Tuania stepped forward and spoke.
-Let’s stop the Hive. Let’s take revenge for everyone.
-I know, Tuania, but everyone here is wounded. If we charge in head-on, we’ll all die meaninglessly.
Gehenna replied to Tuania’s words. As he said, this place was filled with defeated remnants and the injured.
At that moment, Yul stepped forward.
-I have a plan.
* * *
Fundamentally, the Hive was in a state of “inactivity.”
This had already been proven through the sailing ship of the Kingdom of Aragon. Before the humans approached and interfered with it, the Hive did not move.
However, when some kind of external stimulus occurred, the Hive became active.
A representative example was the orcas’ ultrasonic waves.
After being attacked by the orcas, the Hive absorbed ultrasonic waves and became able to use them, recognizing them as a threat.
The fact that it attacked the Patrollers the moment it detected ultrasonic waves was proof enough.
Then why was it inactive to begin with? Yul concluded that it was due to the conservation of energy.
The Hive absorbs its opponents, but as it does so, it grows ever larger. And a larger organism consumes calories proportional to its size.
Even if magic is used to assist movement, unless the laws of physics themselves change, the body’s calorie consumption does not disappear.
Moreover, the Hive is a creature whose bulk keeps increasing, and with it, its caloric expenditure.
Floating idly on the sea surface like a buoy could also be seen as a way to conserve energy.
Perhaps it even absorbed seaweed and the like to perform photosynthesis.
Having reached this conclusion, Yul decided to bind the Hive using a similar method.
To avoid triggering the Hive’s hostile response, Yul made active use of Captain Thibaut Marchand, who was waiting out in the open sea.
-Marchand, how many tow ropes do you have?
“We do have some spares.”
-Give me all of them. Every rope used for the masts as well. And let’s recycle all the sails too. Is the anchor usable?
“What? Then we won’t be able to go home.”
-Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you get back, and I’ll pay you handsomely too. For every rope you hand over, I’ll give gold coins equal to half its weight. The anchor’s too heavy, though, so that’s excluded.
“I’ll even strip down to my underwear.”
When the flustered Marchand relayed the order, the sailors raised their hands high and shouted.
“Take off all your clothes, you bastards!”
“You’re really going to trade gold equal to half the weight of our clothes…? Take off your socks too and turn them into rope!”
“Hehehe, gold! Gold!”
“Then we won’t even need to work on ships anymore.”
Some sailors clearly expected to quit after this voyage due to the enormous reward Yul had promised, but that didn’t matter.
Right now, the Hive was more important.
In any case, the sailors gathered fibers and continuously made ropes.
“Who do we give these to?”
-To the orcas here.
At those words, orcas slowly rose from the water around the sailors waiting at the ship’s side.
“W-Whoa!”
“So many orcas!?”
Knowing that the orcas of the Great Azure Ocean were not ordinary orcas, the sailors handed over the ropes with extreme caution.
-Seriously, Yul, just how do you even talk with humans?
-Hm? You can’t, right?
As she said that, Tuania took a thick sail rope from the humans and held it in her mouth.
As Tuania noted, sea creatures normally cannot communicate with humans. Humans cannot understand magic signals, nor can they communicate via ultrasonic waves.
They cannot communicate through any known language—yet only Yul could communicate properly.
-I learned magic from humans. That’s why I can understand them.
-That’s impressive… These guys can’t use magic signals, but they seem to have a certain level of intelligence anyway.
In terms of brain performance, wouldn't humans be higher than orcas?
-Since they can’t use magic signals, I was thinking of just eating them.
-…Please refrain from that.
The unspoken rule among the sea creatures of the Great Azure Ocean was that anything unable to use magic signals was fair game… which meant the humans had nearly become prey just now.
-Well then, looking at this massive rope, it seems I should handle it.
-Huh? Gehenna…?
Gehenna glanced at the anchor line hanging slack beneath the sea, then bit down on it and hauled it upward.
In this way, the completed ropes were deployed across the Great Azure Ocean.
The Hive was floating aimlessly, heading southeast.
They chose the place to stop the Hive: the boundary point between the Outer Ocean and the Great Azure Ocean, an area normally patrolled by the Patrollers.
It was a terrain crowded with numerous reefs rising like gigantic horns from beneath the sea.
Here, the orcas used ropes to set countless traps.
A day later.
The Hive soon appeared. Having absorbed whatever sea creatures it encountered indiscriminately, it was slightly larger than before.
The enemy could perceive ultrasonic waves. Thus, in the silence of the orcas, a barrier woven of ropes was completed.
The Hive was slowly caught within that barrier. Of course, due to its enormous mass, it gradually pushed the ropes aside, but it did not seem to perceive them as a “threat.”
To a certain extent, the Hive’s movement came to a halt.
【Authority—Madness (狂化) Activated】
Yul, his entire body turning crimson, planted a spiraling Krellsite spear in front of himself.
‘Here I go!’