The taste of seawater, which had flowed into Kamijou's throat, awakened his blurry consciousness.
He was in the water.
He could see his limbs drifting slightly in the water. It was unknown how deep the water was. The night sea seemed to be covered by the darkness, as even if he looked up, he could only see the dark surface of the water. The ice fleet should be nearby, but he seemed to be covered by some thick membrane, as he couldn't see the light.
White bubbles emerged from his mouth as the fragments of air continued to rise.
(Or…Orsola…where are they…?)
A certain person's name appeared in his mind.
The remains of the ice ship were gone, so the ice with the modified melting point likely melted back into water. Maybe they were already starting to create another ship somewhere else.
(Lu…cia, and An…gelene, they…)
He knew that he had to head to the surface, but his thoughts didn't follow his actions.
He couldn't link his motive, actions and results in his mind, as if he was really about to succumb to the sleep devil.
Glup.
The air bubbles escaped from his mouth, moving upwards.
(Damn…damn it…I will…really…die…)
He was not far from the surface of the sea.
It was like an illusion of looking up a cliff to see an exit there.
(…That's?)
The black sea in Kamijou's vision was suddenly destroyed.
He thought that maybe there was a killer whale or a shark nearby, only to realize that he mistook the dimensions. The 'thing' that was slowly approaching from afar was about 30 meters long.
(Is that—)
Before Kamijou could consider anything.
Crack. The front tip of the long and narrow construct opened up in fours like a flower blooming.
As if it was about to swallow the boy.