"So..." I started, keeping my tone as casual as possible. "Do death gods just go around scamming people and telling lies?"
She flinched, the paddle pausing mid-water, and then—
"So... Do you eat your own shit like normal dogs do?"
Hehe.
Okay, let's stop there.
Alicia is present, and I'd rather not have her ears sullied by vulgarities.
Bless her innocent soul, she was busy braiding a lock of my hair, completely unbothered. "Ruby, what does she mean by that?"
"Ahaha! Miss Dearth, you're so funny!" I forced a laugh, hoping to patch up the mess I'd made. "Of course, I'd never indulge in that kind of thing. C'mon, I'm a Fenrir, you know?"
C'mon, you scam of a death god, take the hint and shut up!
"Hmmm." She eyed me with a raised brow. "Really? 'Cause your breath says otherwise."
"..."
Sigh.
We really needed to get to Pison quickly.
And I really had to stop opening my mouth.
"No, no, no. It's alright. I understand."
What now? I was already defeated—just leave it be!
"Cerberus usually eats his own shit, so I just thought maybe you did too. Maybe dog shit has a peculiar taste or something. I wasn't trying to diss you or anything."
Ahhhhhh, my pride, my poor pride!
I bowed deeply, masking my humiliation with mock sincerity. "I'm sorry for the misunderstanding. But I assure you, I do not, in fact, eat shit. I enjoy only the finest cuisine: unicorns, pegasi, lesser dragons, and sometimes, those rare, spicy phoenixes. I even indulge in human delicacies from time to time."
"Pffttttt!!!" Dearth stifled a laugh, her shoulders trembling with amusement.
Wh-what?
My cheeks flushed as I fought the urge to drown myself in the black sea due to embarrassment. "Wh-what's so funny?"
"N-no, it's just... Seeing you act like you're not some dumb animal who got tricked into two pacts in one day—it's, uh, quite... yeah, it's funny."
The hell?!
My hate for gods, especially the deathly kind, bloomed anew.
And how far was Pluto planning to broadcast my screw-ups? Was it now on some divine network?
"And look at you, thinking you put up a good fight against Sarvest."
"Huh?"
What did she mean? She herself had praised me earlier for standing my ground against him.
"That wasn't Sarvest's main body. Nobody ever sees his main body."
"Eh? So, like, a clone?"
"Yeah, that. It was a projection. The real Sarvest has two goat-like horns and some ancient tattoos. But, in a way, they're both the same person. Sometimes he just walks around in a different skin."
Hahhh?! How ridiculous!
I almost got killed by a glorified clone?!
Dearth turned to Alicia, who was still clutching me like I was her only life raft, and her expression softened.
"That last hit... It was solid. And kinda cool."
Hm?
Last hit?
"What are you talking about?"
My question was promptly ignored. I've been getting ignored by a lot of people lately. It's almost becoming mainstream.
"Whatever do you mean, Miss Dearth?" Alicia asked, her tone all airy and innocent.
She shrugged it off, but there was a glint in her eye.
Was Dearth mistaken, or was something happening right under my nose…?
Nah, probably Dearth making a mistake about something.
She barely—no, she doesn't know Alicia at all… not like I knew her all that well, either.
As we rowed across the endless sea—seriously, would we ever see dry land again? —Dearth continued to jab at me. Our banter went on, and I'll admit, it kind of lightened the mood.
I think... Dearth had been lonely. Now that she had people to talk to, she was happy and letting loose. At my expense, of course.
"Hehe. Hey, uh... Rune?"
"It's Ruben. It's not even that hard to pronounce!"
"Yeah, Ruben..." She fell quiet, her pale eyes fixed on the horizon as if she were rowing us straight into the netherworld.
"So, I was thinking, like... maybe I could watch over you on your journey to Pison. Not like I care or anything! I just don't want to leave a dumb dog out in the cold... You get me...? Hm? Ringo?"
It's Ruben!
The reason for my silence wasn't because I was starstruck that a beautiful lady was asking to tag along. No.
It was because...
"Hey, Dearth... What... is this below our canoe?"
She didn't even look. Her face went pale—well, paler. "Shit! Shit, shit, shit! I was careless!"
Yeah, can you not be careless when there are passengers on your canoe?
The water below us rippled, a golden outline slithering beneath.
Oh, it was massive and far too close for comfort. The canoe rocked, and Alicia tightened her grip on me, her nails digging into my skin—actually, that's a lie, she was as calm as still waters.
I don't know why it's bothering me, though.
While Dearth rambled on about slacking off and tagging along on my journey—an offer I'd shot down faster than an arrow through a feather—I felt my alarm bells start to ring. Not just ring, actually. They were blaring, deafening, like a thousand war horns blown by titans.
Sarvest hadn't set them off like this. Not even close.
I shifted my gaze over the edge of the canoe, hoping to find nothing but water. But no. Of course not. Beneath the surface, I saw... a yellowish substance.
Just a blur.
Curiosity got the best of me, so I activated [God Wolf Eye] to get a bird's eye view. And...
Oh. My. God.
What I saw? I wish I hadn't.
The yellowish blur beneath us, spanning a ridiculous 300 meters—big enough to fit an entire battle arena—wasn't just a patch of murky water.
It was an eye. An actual, massive eyeball staring up at us as we were treats on a platter.
My brain fizzled. If this was just the eye, how big was the rest of it?
Author, I beg you, let me breathe for at least five chapters without some life-threatening disaster! Please!
The moment I realized the abomination we were sitting on, I hissed at Dearth, and before I could finish my warning, the sea obeyed the terror beneath.
A wave rose in the distance, a monstrous wall of water that climbed into the sky.
Higher and higher, like the heavenly one himself had lifted the ocean to tip it over us.
Behind—no, within—that great rise of water, I saw it...
Now, I've read books before. Books I confiscated from human captives. There was a tale about something like this, a legend from the coastal seas...
Allow me to be poetic for a moment:
Its yellow eye gleamed like a sun refracted through a crystal of nightmares, its gaze a burning oath of destruction. The kind of look that'd make a dead mountain crumble out of sheer intimidation.
Who can put a hook in its mouth or bore its jaw with a thorn?
Can you make a covenant with it, or take it as a servant?
Can you play with it like a bird or bind it like a lamb?
Can you feast on its flesh and sell its parts?
Lay your hands upon it, and you shall remember the battle no more.
Behold, the hope of defeat is vain; can't one be cast down at just the sight of it?
None is so fierce, to stand before it.
This monstrosity among monstrosities.
Nah, that can't be the case…
Right?
Okay, let's confirm from the visibly alarmed Dearth, beside me.
"Uh, Dearth, isn't this what they call Leviathan?"
"No, of course not. This is merely an overgrown dolphin."
"…Noted."
I suppose that answers our question.
The wave hung there, curving in slow motion as if savoring our impending doom. The monstrous eye remained fixed on us, unblinking, eternal.
Dearth turned to me, her expression as sweet as honey, her lips curling into a smile so warm it almost made me forget the apocalypse looming over us.
Her skull-engraved pupils shimmered like black diamonds, a sight both beautiful and horrifying.
"Can... You swim?"
I blinked. "Oh, I can, but... IS THAT REALLY WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY?!"
And swimming wasn't going to do squat for us!
The wave groaned, the weight of a thousand oceans pressing down, and the Leviathan's eye narrowed, as if deciding whether to chew us or swallow us whole.
We were in the middle of nowhere… and I was with Alicia…
If miracles existed, I'll really appreciate one right now.
And…
{…Master is in trouble?}
My prayer was answered!!