Both Shou Bao Tsai and Kang Sora were not in the room, which was strange, especially Kang Sora, who, except for mealtime, spent most of her time sleeping or staring at the wall, lost in thought.
"This doesn't bode well."
I feel tense as I leave the room, and I wish I hadn't.
"This... this..."
My eyes widen in horror at the sight outside.
Finally knowing the source of the strange smell.
A few meters from the door lay Shou Bao Tsai's corpse, discarded there like a broken toy.
There was a giant hole in the chest of Shou Bao Tsai's corpse, as if someone had ripped his heart out, pulled it from its place, and then carelessly thrown his body, which bore expressions of shock and terror on its face, there.
And from the hole in Shou Bao Tsai's chest, his blood flows, staining the ship's floor and filling the corridor with the smell of blood.
"Damn, damn, damn! Can't a single game cycle pass without a disaster?"
"First with the Song Jin zombies, and now this..."
I feel like crying because of all these strange events that haunt me.
But I have to keep it together; this isn't a suitable situation for a breakdown.
"The question now is, do I search for who caused this or hide?"
"What a stupid question. Isn't the answer obvious?"
I turn around and head back to the room.
"I don't know who did this, but it's clear I'm no match for them. So, I can only hide here and hope Oliver and his crew can handle it."
And so, after securely closing the bedroom door, I sit in a corner of the room, wishing the pirate crew victory over the mysterious monster.
*Thump thump thump thump thump*
"..."
It seems my grand strategy of running away from every problem I face has proven its failure once again.
*Thump thump thump*
The sound of rhythmic footsteps, resembling drumbeats, echoes from the corridor.
"Damn it, damn it!"
"Please, don't come in here. Please, don't come in here."
*Thump thump thump*
"Please, please, please..."
And my prayers prove futile.
*Crack*
A portion of the door shatters, revealing the terrifying monster behind it.
With its enormous, hunched body and bluish-black skin, making it resemble a ghoul that crawled out of the sea's depths.
Yet, the most horrifying thing about it was its head, with its distorted features that seemed as if trying to mimic a human face, with a giant mouth reaching the end of its jaws.
"#&#$£$¥£#"
Incomprehensible yet familiar words come out of the monster's mouth.
I feel my body losing the ability to move upon seeing this sight.
*Crunch*
Seeing the shattered door and the monster entering the room, I can't control myself; I rush out in a panic, trying to slip past the monster and escape through the door.
Luckily for me, it seems the monster was shocked by my sudden rush towards it, which gave me a chance to slip past near it and escape through the door.
"Run, run! I must get as far away as possible!"
"#$¥#"
A high-pitched scream spreads from the monster's mouth.
And before I realize it, a sharp pain spreads from my stomach, affecting my balance.
"Aahhh!"
I feel like I'm going to go insane from fear and pain as I see a giant hole in the right side of my stomach.
"Aaaaaaaaaah!"
"#€&$£"
Tears and snot flow down my face from the intensity of the pain as I stare at the giant monster slowly approaching my collapsed body.
"Aah... please, wait."
"#$$¥₹"
The monster pays no heed to my pleas and continues to approach me with an annoying slowness, as if intentionally torturing me.
"Aahhh... haaah. Why? Why does this always happen to me? Why do I always die alone, then have to repeat everything alone, then die alone again?"
I don't know if it's because of the pain or the fear, but my thoughts begin to take a chaotic turn, with an overwhelming feeling of loneliness appearing in my heart.
"No, it has always been like this since my childhood, since my days on Earth. There was truly no one who understood me."
The pain and fear begin to fade as I drown in my memories and my deep feeling of loneliness.
*Crunch*
Both I and the monster suddenly freeze with the spread of a strange sound, resembling shattering glass, in the corridor.
*Crunch*
I ignore everything and begin to focus, trying to find the source of the strange sound.
*Crunch*
And indeed, I found it.
It was coming from the direction of Shou Bao Tsai's corpse.
*Crunch*
No, it was coming from Shou Bao Tsai's corpse.
"...!"
There appears a sight I will never forget for the rest of my life.
Even the monster froze upon seeing that strange sight.
Shou Bao Tsai's corpse, discarded there, begins to shatter like glass, and a hand emerges from its head.
The hand begins to feel around, trying to shatter Shou Bao Tsai's head to pull out the rest of its body.
And it succeeds easily.
Shou Bao Tsai's head and upper body shatter like porcelain as a young man with flawless pale skin and straw-colored hair tied in a messy ponytail pulls himself out from within the collapsed body of Shou Bao Tsai.
"What a short and miserably ending life."
The strange young man sighs sadly as he looks at Shou Bao Tsai's shattered body.
"Speaking of tragic endings, what might you be?"
A strange light glints in the young man's eyes as he turns his gaze towards the monster frozen in shock at the scene.
"#¥₹£"
The monster's shock doesn't last long, as it rushes towards the strange young man with tremendous speed.
As if, unlike me, whom it was treating like a plaything, it was taking this young man seriously.
"My, what an uncivilized person. I only wanted us to sit and talk calmly."
"...!"
And once again, an illogical, mind-boggling sight appears.
With a wave of the young man's hand, the monster falls to the ground as if a tremendous pressure is restraining its body.
"#£₹€¥"
The monster screams in anguish as it struggles against the invisible pressure restraining its body.
But, unconcerned with the monster's screams, the mysterious young man approaches it and gently places his hand on the monster's head.
"Now, let's see what you are."