‘Not his first time fooling folks like that. Back at Qian Ning Mansion, this round’s me even prodded him a few times to get eating quick, but what did he do for one lousy prey? Jumped straight off the second floor! Those ghouls downstairs are probably still thanking the heavens for the gift. For real, if he’d gone full chow-down from the start, half that room of ghouls would’ve bolted in terror.’
The corpses that were still cogent enough to chat kept diligently at their work, swiftly binding the remaining few Star Spawn to the ground. They didn’t flinch even when Cthulhu’s tentacles hammered down like massive mallets—after all, they could regenerate. The unlucky ones were just the Star Spawn pulverized into paste alongside them.
But most of the corpses simply shrieked and twisted in mad laughter, or wailed feebly and mindlessly, venting their hatred toward the Great Old One at the heart of the dream.
The palace crumbled. Rubble rained down. As mud and sand cascaded in the chaos, Ode calmly ignored Cthulhu’s now-meaningless roars directed at him. He snatched a chunk of Behemoth meat from his Alchemy Space, popped it into his mouth, spun on his heel, and charged straight at an incoming tentacle smashing down from the dark waters above without a hint of evasion!
Boom…
The seawater churned and compressed under the colossal mass, roaring like thunder as it bore down on Ode.
But at the last possible second, just before the tentacle struck, Ode flicked his tail. With the grace of a fish, he slipped effortlessly past the frontal assault.
As he gulped down the savory cut of meat, his tail fin flared wide. The razor-sharp edge sliced along the tentacle from tip to root!
“—!” Cthulhu jerked the tentacle back in pain, a vast green mist of blood instantly clouding most of his vision.
Yet beneath him, countless white bones swarmed up his enormous body like hyenas scenting blood. They went berserk, frantically burrowing into the gash he’d just sustained!
“▅▃█▂—” An incomprehensible roar, beyond human utterance or even Roman transcription, poured from Cthulhu’s maw.
Ode acted as if he hadn’t heard a thing—assuming he even could have understood it. With his sharp tiger-like fangs clamped on a second piece of Behemoth meat, he launched himself at Cthulhu’s next tentacle!
Green mist splashed across his face. As Ode swallowed the meat, he couldn’t resist slurping a bit of the “soup”—so fresh it nearly made his tongue fall out.
‘No, no, no, that’s just weird.’ He clamped his mouth shut and warily sliced off another tentacle. Between attacks, he furrowed his brow solemnly, critiquing himself inwardly. ‘Pretending to savor it in front of a monster is just mind games, psychological warfare. Talk tough all you want, but actually enjoying it? That’s a whole different story!’
Ode schooled his features into a stern mask, swallowing the vicious taunts he’d prepared.
In the final strike, as the Bone Centipede-like mass of bones occupied Cthulhu’s flesh and rendered him unable to fight back, Ode carved straight into his chest. A torrent of thick, sweet blood washed over Ode’s face, but he didn’t so much as blink. He only deepened the wound, letting the white bones swarm inside once more.
‘Ode…’ Cthulhu’s voice rippled through the water. This time, the rage had ebbed, carrying a hint of weakness instead.
He had no choice but to weaken. In truth, he’d held out long enough already. The moment one white bone tore into his dream and intruded upon it, all his fury lost its foundation. A dream god whose own dream was ripped apart and invaded by the enemy’s— what victory could he even hope for?
If it had been centuries earlier, or even a month ago, he would have sensed something off and immediately groveled or fled. For his kind, dignity meant nothing compared to survival.
Yet that heart—which should never have belonged in a monster—pulsed now, filling him with an unwillingness to beg, a refusal to plead for mercy. And even if he did, would Ode spare him?
Impossible.
Better to die fighting proud than groveling.
Yes, fight until death came calling.
Fight on, never bow, until death arrived… No, no. He couldn’t!
He could see death waiting at the road’s end. How could he walk that path with equanimity?!
He wanted to live. He wanted to survive!
Thump.
The heart’s pounding rang especially clear in that instant.
He heard his dream shatter completely, seawater cascading like waterfalls through the gaps in the bones. Amid the downpour, he heard the wails sweeping in from all directions—until the gaunt, towering figure from the Corpse Sea waved them away.
All the dreams burst like soap bubbles. They plummeted into the real-world South Pacific.
Splash…
The icy seawater slapped his face. Without a second thought, he whipped around and fled. One thought dominated his mind and that frantic heart:
Survive! I have to survive! I want to live!!
Meanwhile, back on the pristine deck of the Royal Liner, freshly aboard. Ode yanked on his pants in two shakes. “How do I use that Covenant Inscription? How, Faust??”
【What? What do you need that for! It was just for emergencies. You could dive right back in and finish the chase, wrap it up quick. Why climb aboard? Do you know how many pounds this Royal Liner cost—】
“I can’t eat any more of Cthulhu’s meat,” Ode interrupted. “You wouldn’t get it—this weird feeling, like one more bite and something else will crawl out from inside my heart. This isn’t the first time I’ve felt it.”
【…Up on the bow deck, see that out-of-place steering wheel? Grab it. The whole liner’s been modded by me and Eva into an anti-submarine missile. You know how to aim.】
Ode dashed toward the bow. “Where’s Cthulhu? He’s dived into the depths. I need him to hold still…”
Ode’s urgent words trailed off.
Around the sea domain, the support ships circling nearby witnessed the same majestic, incomprehensible sight.
At the churning heart of the waves, the water bulged upward as if shoved by some colossal rising mass. Then, a grotesquely shaped green rock pillar broke the surface, followed by the ruins of R’lyeh—abandoned by its master, reduced to shattered walls and remnants.
Water roared like thunder. Cascades poured off the rising structures like waterfalls. In awe and shock, onlookers watched the Lord of R’lyeh reclaim its domain—a being that should have been fleeing for its life. Viscous green blood splattered every rock, every building.
“What is It doing?!” someone on a support ship warned vigilantly. “Careful! Cthulhu must command secrets beyond our ken. All that bleeding—could be the cost of some ritual!”
“Requesting fire support—”
“Hold off a bit,” said Elder Zhong in his white robe, fanning himself with his folding fan as he squinted toward central R’lyeh. “If Its temperament right now really matches Ode’s…”
No readings of sorcery fluctuations. Cthulhu was a Great Old One famed for brute strength, after all.
On the deck, Ode peered puzzledly across the waves at the god perched atop R’lyeh. Suddenly, realization dawned.
Did he not fear death? Had he never considered fleeing the battlefield?
It was just that every time he ran, he always turned back.
“…” Ode let out a silent sigh, reached into his own dream realm, rummaged around, and with effort hauled out the heavy Thorn Crown. Though forged by the Behemoth’s hand, through their psychic link, it counted as Cthulhu’s own creation—personally fitted upon him. In a low voice, Ode said to Cthulhu, “Call it tying up loose ends. No way I’m wearing this thing again.”
The massive liner turned sharply as Ode gripped the wheel, its reinforced hull slicing through wind and waves—though the waves fell eerily silent.
It was as if a thousand souls in the air watched in wordless vigil, contemplating their own paths, wondering if they’d ever foreseen such an end when they first set out on life’s journey.
The liner’s prow smashed into R’lyeh’s stone pillar. Golden Covenant Inscriptions flashed across the hull, and the unyielding stone parted like tofu.
As the inscription-etched prow plunged into Cthulhu’s body, Ode stared into those green eyes—which, in the final moment, had come to resemble his own. Softly, he said, “Goodnight. Farewell forever.”
R’lyeh disintegrated completely, along with Cthulhu’s body. Under the inscriptions’ power, the remains crumbled to desiccated ash and vanished into the air in an instant.
【…All right?】Faust’s hesitant voice came through the earpiece. 【The cruise ship didn’t blow up—we just saved the British government some money they weren’t desperate to keep anyway. No hostages died… Everyone’s happy! Alright, alright, let the hostages go back to their families, call it a day, pack up and go home!】
A chorus of relieved sighs and lighthearted banter followed from the other end of the line, as if the storm-tossed waves had finally calmed.
Faust switched to a private channel and teased Ode. 【I did say no lovey-dovey talk on the job, but you didn’t even get a single word in with the Duke this time. I’m starting to feel a bit guilty about that. Take a break—go keep him company—】
“You know, there’s still one issue from this whole mess that I’ve been mulling over,” Ode said. Amid the sea wind, he removed the heavy, prickling Thorn Crown.
He recalled what Cavendish had said in the bathroom:
‘What do you want?’
‘There is one thing you might want to know. When the captain died, I heard piano music.’
Why had Cavendish mentioned nothing else, only that?
Why claim that was the one thing he wanted to know?
A vague suspicion stirred in Ode’s mind. He bolted straight for the lower decks. “Faust. You said no sign of Jack’s body on the ship—not even any random corpses. Any chance that’s because… he didn’t die?”
【What?】
“Think about it. Where could the captain have hidden Jack? Somewhere no one would find him? Somewhere a rotting corpse wouldn’t stink up the place?” Ode raced down to the bottom level. “The best spot is the Rib Space Gap. It’s not a cabin—just an empty structural void to reinforce the ship’s frame. No one goes there; it serves no purpose. And no one can get in, because it’s been completely sealed since the ship was built, until it’s scrapped.”
“If Jack’s Phantasmal Dream Realm ability kept him from dying right away. If Khirra spent a long time hiding down in the ship to evade the Behemoth—”
“Could Jack, badly wounded and clinging to life, have been corrupted after prolonged exposure to Khirra?”
【High probability… Wait, you’re not thinking of dismantling the cruise ship, are you?!?】
Faust’s question was answered by the deafening boom of cannon fire.
Ode slung his heavy weaponry over his back along the ribs, pocketed the phone he’d used to scan for monsters, and leaped into the pitch-black Rib Space Gap. “I’ve already started. It shouldn’t cause too much damage. Like you said, it’s not money they desperately need to save. For GORCC, rescuing someone who can freely enter and exit the Phantasmal Dream Realm has to be worth more than the financial hit, right?”
Darkness swallowed his vision, but it didn’t stop Ode from groping forward until he touched something wet and squishy.
The thing shrank back in terror, but Ode’s unrelenting grip pinned it in place before it could flee.
“Easy… easy… you’re okay now.” Expression unchanging, Ode scooped up Jack and planted a kiss on the forehead of the deformed monster, without the slightest hesitation. “You’re a bit too old for me to sing you lullabies, aren’t you?”
Ode held him tightly, heedless of Jack’s struggles. Only when the mushy mass in his arms regained bones and the rise and fall of breath—when that gaunt frame ground against Ode’s own skinny build, drawing a sharp hiss of pain from the man—did he finally loosen his hold.
The chill from weeks of dark submersion beneath the sea fled before the returning warmth of life. Ode couldn’t hold back a laugh. He rose to his feet and extended a hand to Jack.
“Never performed in the true Golden Vienna concert hall? What a shame. Come on.”
I’ll take you back to the real world.
