Chapter 53: Missile Preparation!

The frenzy on the Neversnar was heightened as the crew grew even more frantic and crazed. The sailors screamed, cursed, ran, and shoved everything and everyone they could. And even the hardiest of them had given in to despair.

Within this pandemonium, however, one crewmate retained a modicum of composure. He shook in his boots to be sure, and it was only through superhuman effort that he managed to choke down a scream, but he did not give in to the smog of terror that clouded over the ship. This sailor, shivering but resolute, held on to his phone and silently recorded the happenings before him. The Lovecraftian monster was perfectly captured in high definition.

“As long as… as long as I post this video on the internet… I can definitely gain many views and subscribers… I should be able to make money off of this, ha… hahaha. I’ll never come to sea again… It’s too scary here.”

Saying this, the sturdy man sobbed, but his desire to get rich compelled him to continue filming. Since everyone was still obsessed with the dragon in the Amazon, he believed that seeing this would also make him wealthy. And he needed the money.

Inside the bridge, the captain of the ship was roaring, “What’s going on! Why aren’t we moving?!”

In absence of any incoming signals, the ship was like a blind man wandering through a thick forest. They had no means of determining their bearings, and the immense heft of the vessel meant they could not tell which direction the currents pushed them in.

The octopoid monsters let out a sharp scream, eliciting a new round of wails from the Neversnar’s crew. Observing the unchanging and distorted scenery, the captain recalled the horrific landscapes he had seen in many movies and video games.

“Captain… our ship should be moving… it should be, but we can’t get away no matter how we move. It seems like we’re spinning in the same place, or maybe the ocean is moving with us.”

The first mate was also crying with snot coming out of his nose. Although their signal was unable to reach the outside world, they could still transmit electronic signals within.

Therefore, the first mate was able to see the situation of the crew through the cameras installed on the ship. Although he could not see the terrifying Lovecraftian monster, he could see that the crewmates were losing their sanity.

The monster’s tentacles crept around the ship. They slid over and poked every surface they landed on, as though they were probing the vessel for something. In the meantime, the rest of the crew had fled the stern and crowded around the ship’s bow. With each second the tentacles crept closer, and more and more sailors were unfortunately pushed into the ocean as the crowd tried to compress itself further and further into the front.

At this rate, the sailors would likely kill themselves off before the monster even did anything. 

“Abandon ship!”

The captain took a deep breath and gritted his teeth word by word.

It would spell the death of his career to leave his charter, but that would be a lot more preferable to his actual death.

“Ca-captain. Is there any use in abandoning the ship? Isn’t it safer to stay on board?”

The first mate shuddered as he retorted.

The captain slapped him and snarled, “You idiot. Look at the people who fell overboard!”

Pointing to the monitors displaying the various parts of the ship, the captain berated the poor first mate, “Don’t you see that the monster has completely ignored them?! It only cares about the freighter for some reason! Fuck! If you want to stay then do what you want. I’m getting off this godforsaken ship!” Cursing, the captain ran for the ship’s hold.

The first mate was stunned at this behavior, but soon recollected himself “Wait for me, Captain! Wait for me!”

Just when he was about to run after the captain, he felt a prick on his conscience. He turned around and picked up the microphone for shipwide announcements, “This is the bridge speaking. The captain has given permission for the crew to abandon the ship. I repeat, you have permission to abandon ship!”

Saying this, he quickly fled in the same direction as the captain.

The crew members who heard the announcement stopped still. Many hesitated at the idea of leaping into the deep.

But one clever person took action quickly. He got on an inflatable raft and it plopped down onto the sea with a splash. Leaping into it, he began to row the boat forcefully away from the freighter. At this, the crew noticed that the giant octopus paid no attention to the sole escapee. Furthermore, those greasy slimy tentacles snaked closer and closer to them.

It did not take long before a scramble for the remaining rubber boats began. The sailors pushed against one another with inhuman zeal as they fought for a seat of survival.

“Bastards. Get the hell out of my way!”

“I was here first! If you dare grab it, I’ll shoot you!”

“……”

The camaraderie and trust they had built over several years of voyages were instantly thrown away in favor of ruthless survival instincts. There were more than enough life rafts to save everyone, and yet the competition for them bordered on bloody. Some shipmates even swam towards the boats that had already fallen into the water.

“This is good. It’s better to run away and leave the whole ship to me… Let’s see if there are any stragglers. Don’t blame me if I catch you! He he he…”

Louie’s body was lurking under the water nearby. He happily viewed the sailors as they fled. But soon his senses were drawn to the east by two large vessels, “Hmm? Aren’t they too quick to react”

Slightly irritated, he swam towards the two large ships. They were destroyers sent by the American navy.

At this time the crew on both ships had just stumbled onto the mosaic scenery the Neversnar had encountered. There were many gasps of amazement as they witnessed the sky and sea churn in unnatural ways.

“Oh my God! What the hell is that thing?!”

“There… It looks like a monster! It’s as tall as a mountain!”

“All personnel on level one combat alert!”