Sea Monster Stew Chapter 82

Her heart began to pound, filled with unease. 

 

Leaning her head weakly against the cannonball crate, Biche fiddled with the scales on the back of her foot for a long while.

 

‘Am I human, or am I a monster?’ She asked herself countless times.

 

She had lived a long time on land, pretending to be human. 

 

But she couldn’t deny her father’s blood. 

 

The days spent sharing smiles with Kisa, with a human face, were fading away like a dream.

 

Just then, the crew’s hearty laughter came again from beyond the storeroom door. 

 

Biche flinched and hid her body even deeper beside the cannonball crates.

 

The crew’s footsteps were still wandering nearby. 

 

It seemed like they could swing the storeroom door open at any moment.

 

At that moment, when she couldn’t even breathe, holding her nerves taut, a creaking sound came from beyond the storeroom door. 

 

It was the sound of the wooden door being roughly opened. Then, heavy footsteps approached steadily.

 

“Which bastard reported like that?”

 

A familiar voice cut through the thick darkness.

 

“And why are the cannons in this state?”

 

The voice, sharp at the end, carried a low tone full of suppressed irritation. 

 

It was Kisa’s voice. 

 

Without realizing it, Biche leaned her body forward toward the storeroom door.

 

“Probably due to prolonged exposure to Whecoca’s humidity. We’ll repair them immediately!”

 

“Hurry up.”

 

Her heart pounded wildly the entire time she eavesdropped on Kisa and the crewman’s conversation. 

 

Scales stood up on her skin, and her gills began to tremble minutely with tension.

 

‘Was Kisa sensing her presence and coming into the storeroom?’ 

 

If Kisa’s gaze swept to this corner of the storeroom, she would no longer be able to hide her presence.

 

Kisa’s heavy footsteps tapped sharply on the floor. 

 

The metallic sounds of inspecting cannons, a dull thud like kicking a cannonball crate, and Kisa’s sharp reprimands flying at the crewman followed in succession.

 

Biche, curled up between crates, didn’t miss a single sign of Kisa’s presence. 

 

Just as his footsteps were gradually approaching the storeroom, the air froze and silence abruptly descended.

 

“…Wait.”

 

After a long silence, Kisa whispered in a cold voice.

 

“…I smell a sea creature.”

 

Biche reflexively covered her mouth. 

 

Her heart pounded as if about to burst. 

 

‘Had she been discovered?’

 

Even in the urgent situation, an inexplicable emotion welled up. 

 

Instead of insane fear, a sliver of hope sprouted.

 

‘Even if Kisa hates sea creatures, if the one he finds is me… Wouldn’t their shared memories sway his heart? Couldn’t she see hesitation instead of disgust in those eyes?,

 

Holding onto a faint hope, Biche slowly rose from between the crates. 

 

The moment her fingertips touched the cold handle of the storeroom door—

 

*BOOM!*

 

A deafening roar shook the ship. 

 

A thunderous explosion struck her ears, and the entire hull twisted and shook.

 

Crates inside the storeroom clattered and collided with each other; several cannonballs rolled and tumbled across the floor.

 

Biche swallowed a scream and barely kept her balance. 

 

Kisa’s roar echoed loudly from outside the door.

 

“What’s happening?!”

 

The crew’s footsteps, pounding the deck like a heavy downpour, came from all directions. 

 

Sharp shouts and chaotic orders intersected with massive explosions. 

 

A crewman’s breathless cry followed.

 

“It’s the Ritcher pirate crew! Admiral! The Ritcher pirate crew is firing at our ship!”

 

“The Ritcher pirate crew…? Damn it, assemble on deck now!”

 

Biche felt the vibration shaking the ship throughout her whole body. 

 

Fear, seeping deep into her bones, pressed down on her.

 

‘The Ritcher pirate crew?’

 

Biche’s eyes shook widely. 

 

‘Could it be one of Hildert’s subordinate pirate crews? Could Hildert have found out she snuck onto this ship?’

 

As her thoughts went that far, her heart felt frozen solid. 

 

Cold sweat broke out on her palms, and the hand barely gripping the doorknob trembled violently.

 

‘Should she go out? Or should she stay hidden here to the end?’ 

 

As she hesitated, a crewman’s sharp shout came from beyond the door.

 

“The Ritcher pirate crew! Damn it! Why are sea creatures attacking us?!”

 

Biche froze instantly. 

 

‘Sea creatures? So, the ‘Ritcher pirate crew’ isn’t a human group but one made of sea creatures?’

 

“Load the cannons!” 

 

Kisa’s irritable command followed.

 

“Sink their ship to the bottom of the sea!”

 

Soon after, his footsteps disappeared toward the deck, and the sound of crewmen swarming in to drag cannons to the gun ports could be heard. 

 

The dull sound of loading cannonballs weighed heavily on the air.

 

*BOOM! BOOM!*

 

Loud cannon blasts shook the surroundings.

 

Biche barely kept her balance, hearing the explosive sounds tearing through the air.

 

Amidst the fierce cannon fire, the roars of monsters could be heard mixed in. 

 

Then came the screams and shouts of the Crocus pirate crew.

 

“Hit! They’re falling back!”

 

“No, not yet! They’re approaching again!”

 

“Prepare the cannonballs!”

 

A deafening roar, as if shaking the entire hull, rang out once more. 

 

*CRACK!*

 

The sound of wood splintering followed. 

 

The floor vibrated *thump-thump* as if several cannonballs had rolled off. 

 

The sounds that followed were the crew’s desperate screams.

 

“The cannons are falling into the sea!”

 

“Grab them now!”

 

“Grab them how?! Move if you don’t want to be crushed to death!”

 

The faint sound of heavy metal lumps splashing into the sea could be heard. 

 

Biche finally mustered her courage and carefully pushed open the storeroom door.

 

The scene unfolding before her eyes was more horrifying than she had vaguely imagined.

 

The wall where gun ports had been lined up was torn apart. 

 

Through the gap, the head of a sea serpent as large as a house was slowly pushing its way in.

 

The sea serpent’s dark blue scales were soaked with water, and its glaring yellow eyes flashed ominously in the darkness. 

 

The serpent hissed menacingly, flicking its long tongue. 

 

Sticky saliva dripped plop plop onto the floor.

 

“Cannons! Load the cannons now!”

 

The moment the crewmen screamed and clung to the cannons, the serpent, scanning the interior with its yellow eyes, gaped its mouth wide open. 

 

The inside of the snake’s mouth was large enough to swallow several men whole in one gulp. 

 

The gleaming teeth inside were as sharp as blades.

 

Biche’s eyes were covered with terror. 

 

The image of the giant sea serpent was so overwhelming her entire body stiffened. 

 

Her mind was so hazy she didn’t even notice she had let go of the doorknob and the storeroom door had swung wide open.

 

At that moment, the yellow eyes of the sea serpent, snorting shortly, flashed like lightning. 

 

The serpent swiftly turned its head toward the storeroom where she was hiding.

 

The moment Biche’s gaze met the sea serpent’s head-on, her body turned to stone.

 

The serpent pushed its head deeper inside the hull and extended its long tongue. 

 

The tongue, fast as an arrow, wrapped tightly around Biche’s waist. 

 

The sticky, cold sensation constricted her whole body.

 

“Ahhhh!”

 

Biche screamed a high-pitched shriek and thrashed, but her body was already being lifted helplessly into the air. 

 

The sea serpent yanked its head back out of the hull as if its job was done.

 

The chaotic scene of cannons collapsing faded from her view, and immediately, the stormy, dark blue night sea filled her vision. 

 

Fierce wind and rain lashed her face, making it impossible to even open her eyes properly.

 

The sea, which had been calm when Biche had crawled onto the pirate ship, was now swallowed by a storm. 

 

Rough waves surged like tall hills, and lightning split the black sky smeared with dark clouds.

 

Biche stared blankly at the Crocus pirate crew’s ship with its hull torn open. 

 

The shadows busily running across the deck were faintly visible.

 

Then her gaze fell on another pirate ship with black sails. 

 

On the sail was painted a sea serpent with its mouth gaping wide.

 

‘Arcobicche?’

 

At that moment, like thunder striking down, someone’s voice slammed into her from above. 

 

It was a man’s low, resonant voice.

 

‘Are you Arcobicche?’

 

Biche stiffly, creakily, moved her neck to look back. 

 

Her frightened face was vaguely reflected in the sea serpent’s yellow eyes.

 

The serpent’s body rising from the black sea was more immense and terrifying than she had imagined. 

 

Every time the serpent writhed its massive body, the dark water surged violently.

 

“D-did you just speak to me?”

 

She shouted with all her might, but her voice was buried in the sound of the fierce storm and cannon fire. 

 

Her waist was still tightly bound by the serpent’s red tongue. 

 

The more she struggled, the more tightly the serpent squeezed her waist.

 

Biche screamed and resisted, but the serpent didn’t budge, only staring piercingly at her.