Vikir, a low-ranking guard with no name or affiliation.
No one knew the identity or intentions of this hound that melted into the darkness of Nouvelle Vague.
'Did I give the picaresque mask to Camus for no reason? Maybe I should have kept it a little longer.'
Vikir thought as he moved forward, his eyes fixed on the ceiling.
It's easier to be a little smaller to avoid the prying eyes of the guards.
Vikir briefly wondered if turning into a puppy would make it easier to hide.
... But Vikir soon had to change his mind.
There wasn't a single dog or cat in the Nouvelle Vague.
If he were to change into a dog, he would be very noticeable.
The guards occasionally had pets, but they were usually crayfish, crabs, and octopuses, and occasionally there were seals, fish, and water buffalo.
'If you're going to have pets, you're going to need an aquarium.'
This is the deep ocean, after all.
Vikir dropped to the floor, realizing that all the people around him were gone.
5th floor. Vikir's primary destination for his escape.
In front of him was a vast sea.
The vast plaza had large circular pools in each section, with narrow, steep passageways between them.
An aquarium, or fish farm.
This was the only aquarium in Nouvelle Vague.
"Let's see what they're keeping."
Vikir pulled up a bundle of ropes stacked in the corner of the aquarium.
Then, he threaded the pickled sea bass onto a hook as big as the anchor of a decent ship attached to the end and threw it into the pool.
pungdeong-
The bait sank into the salt water of the pool.
Then, there was a reaction.
Swoosh.
It was visible above the surface. A long, gigantic shadow approaching the bait.
…snap!
The rope pulled taut.
Vikir clenched his hands together and yanked on the rope.
chwaaaaaag-
A huge peak of water rose above the surface, and what was beneath the water was soon impaled on the hook.
It was a giant eel.
"...Hmm. So this is a Gulper eel."
The appearance of the 'Gulper eel' was indeed bizarre.
Its head and belly were enormous, with a skinny, tiny tail.
Meanwhile, its mouth, which takes up more than 90% of its head, is as large and wide as the main entrance to a great temple.
Despite its grotesque appearance, it was surprisingly not a monster from the Demon World, but an endemic species that originally lived in the deep sea.
It is also known by nicknames such as One-bite eel, Gulping eel, Elevator eel, etc.
[geu-ooooo!]
This giant deep-sea creature was immediately irritated when it was dragged to the surface.
When the huge mouth opens wide, one can see gums protruding from the teeth, each one shaped like a fish hook.
Behind each tooth was a row of razor-sharp barbs, as if to say, once bitten, never let go.
...Of course.
"It's a spoiled eel."
It posed no threat to Vikir.
Bam!
With a single slap, Vikir broke most of the eel's teeth and dragged the limp, dripping eel all the way back to the surface.
"That's a lot of them. Is this the biggest?"
Vikir looked over at the countless eels swimming in circles in the aquarium's pool.
The one he had just caught happened to be the largest.
This Gulper Eel is a species of eel that is bred in captivity at Nouvelle Vague.
It's characterized by having a body that's too large and fins and tail that are too small to swim well, but its bulk and light weight allow it to float in the currents and roam the depths of the ocean.
Most of their bodies are made up of water, and the rest are bones and skin, so there's no meat to be had.
What's more, they're so fishy and foul-smelling that they're hardly edible.
As you can see, they're not even cute enough to keep as pets.
... So why is this seemingly useless species being farmed in Nouvelle Vague?
"Because this is the only 'elevator' to the surface."
Vikir stared at the Gulper Eel gasping in front of him.
Getting down to the Nouvelle Vague from the surface is simple.
It's a long, long way to sail through the harsh waters.
At 12 midnight, the vortex that serves as the primary gateway opens, and a prisoner is placed inside an orthoharcon alloy coffin and allowed to sink.
The coffin slowly sinks with the current and eventually arrives at Nouvelle Vague, 10,000 meters below the surface.
...But how do you get from the Nouvelle Vague to the surface?
You can use a Gulper Eel.
It has a big mouth and an even bigger stomach. It can hold any number of people.
Its flesh is soft and its skin is tough, allowing it to survive the crushing pressure of the deep sea.
Gulper Eels with these biological characteristics are bred to an appropriate size according to the body size of the occupants.
In the rare event that it is necessary to go to the surface, a Gulper eel of the right size is selected and the rider opens its mouth and enters its stomach.
Gulper eels are built to withstand water pressure, but they have little ability to swim on their own, so they ride a "specific current" to the surface and are slowly swept up to the surface.
Hence the nickname "elevator eel".
" ... I just need to break through that one bubble and I'll be out of here."
At the end of the tanks, the passageways look out onto the vast depths of the ocean.
However, there is actually a transparent mucus barrier separating the two spaces.
This sticky, transparent wall of mucus, which looks like a soap bubble, is called "Flubber" by the Nouvelle Vague guards.
BDISSEM and Flubber are the two key substances that keep Nouvelle Vague alive.
BDISSEM creates order by binding the prisoners' mana and strength, while Flubber keeps water from flowing into the castle from the outside, allowing the prison itself to be maintained.
Both have one thing in common: they are mysterious substances whose identities have yet to be determined.
Sticky…
Vikir frowned at the mysterious mucus that covered the windows, and indeed the entire castle of Nouvelle Vague.
Flubber was a substance that was responsible for Nouvelle Vague's security alongside the BDISSEM, but it was nowhere near as strong as the BDISSEM.
Now that he was free of his restraints, there was no reason why Vikir, with his mana, shouldn't be able to penetrate this Flubber.
Squirm.
Vikir tugged on the eel's tail and approached the window.
The eel didn't want to move from its spot, but it didn't matter.
Their bodies are too slimy to fit through the narrow window, and they don't have the ability to swim, so they just follow the current.
"Is this for the purpose of restraining a giant? Why is it so big?"
Vikir looked at the eel he'd just caught.
It was a large eel so large that it could be considered a restraining weapon for the giants.
There were only a few of these in the aquarium, while other aquariums were full of smaller ones.
kugugug-
Vikir attached the reins to the eel's tongue, and soon the line was stretched across its stomach.
Even if the eel didn't have the ability to swim, he'd at least be able to control the direction of its fins.
And then.
…Poof!
Vikir kicked the eel out of the water.
Splash!
The flubber mucus ripped away, and the eel slipped into the darkness of the deep.
The eel's stomach was empty.
Since then, Vikir has reeled in several more eels, using rope, hooks, and a pile of perch in the corner as bait.
Three small ones, just big enough for him, and two bigger than the last one.
Vikir did the same to them, tying a halter to their tongues and fins, and shoved them out the window.
The flubber window, once torn, healed quickly, so he didn't have to worry about the seawater continuing to rush in.
Then, as Vikir was pushing the sixth eel out of the water, Decarabia asked.
[Human, why do you keep throwing these eels into the sea? I'm not even going to ride it.].
"To distract them. It would take a lot of manpower to chase them all down, and it would take a long time."
[Aha. That's a good idea.]
"It's always a good idea to have a distraction when you can afford one. Especially if you're going to break out."
[So now we're on our seventh eel, huh? But why did we only catch six eels, don't we have to catch one more?]
Decarabia questioned Vikir, who threw all the eels out the window.
Vikir's answer was short.
"I'm not going out."
[...what?]
Decarabia asked in disbelief.
[No, if you're not going to, why did you untie the eel in the first place?]
"I told you, distraction."
Vikir smiled thinly.
"Riding the eel is a little later. The jailbreak is not yet finalized."
If we go out now, we'll be caught, no matter how many eels we untie. The currents are too slow.
Also, since there was no drinking water or food stored up, it was impossible to go on a voyage without knowing how long it would take.
There was also the risk that the eels would be eaten by larger deep-sea creatures along the way, or that they would run aground on reefs or rough currents.
So Vikir wanted to go into the escape prepared.
This is because it is right to exclude uncertain factors as much as possible.
... Just then.
"What is it, an escaped prisoner?"
An unfamiliar voice came from behind.
"...!"
Vikir instinctively sensed danger and wiped the burn marks from his face, returning to his bare skin.
Slowly turning around, Vikir hears footsteps approaching.
"I thought you were a guard because of your uniform, but I guess not."
The voice turns to face Vikir, an admiring note of interest in its voice.
"Hmph- this is what you look like, the face of the man who broke my handcuffs."
The being was admiring Vikir's face, not Garm's.
A young girl with green hair, lazy eyes, and a pale face that still looks to be in her early teens.
But the layers of restraints on her wrists and ankles were unmistakably familiar.
Despite wearing the uniform of a guard, the mysterious girl in the restraints wore a shiny rank on her chest patch.
<★>
One Star. The mark of a brigadier general, the rank above a colonel.
Vikir's eyes narrowed as he recognized her identity.
"...I see. You made that."
One of Vikir's oldest questions was finally answered.