Chapter Eight: Reunion

That strange sensation kept guiding him roughly in the right direction. Yet, it seemed... to only indicate direction.

Hugh only knew the monstrous fish was below him; as for how to get there, he had no clue.

He tried to explore the abilities he had gained. Besides sensing the water around him, he seemed able to roughly discern the composition of materials, but only in parts he could physically touch.

Walking inside the house, he wore soft-soled slippers, moving lightly and quietly. When rounding a corridor corner, he cautiously peeked to ensure no one was there before proceeding.

Thanks to his usual disinterest in troubling the servants, no one typically kept watch inside the mansion at night, though patrols were present outside.

Hugh counted—the only lights on were at the corridor’s corners and the staircase.

With no clear direction, he focused on inspecting suspicious areas. Enhanced by the sensory boost from the symbiotic ritual, he soon detected something amiss in the study.

“There’s a large amount of metal inside this wall... probably some mechanical structure.”

Raising an eyebrow at the wall before him, Hugh was surprised to have found it—there truly were hidden secrets within the estate!

Looking around the pitch-dark room, his night vision unaffected, he paused briefly before focusing on probing other metallic objects within the room.

If the mechanism behind the wall was mechanical, there would certainly be connecting transmission machinery extending from it—then things would be simpler...

Hugh began to carefully scan the walls throughout the house.

Soon, he discovered metal connecting into the fireplace. Upon closer inspection, a scorched section deep within looked like stone, but inside it bore springs and gears.

“This depth...” Hugh glanced around, then took down a long-handled axe from the shelf above the fireplace. Its tip featured a sharp spike, just the right length to reach the mechanism inside.

He pressed the axe’s tip against the stone and gently applied force.

After a low, grinding sound of gears meshing, part of the fireplace’s flue swung backward, revealing a gap just large enough for a person to pass through.

Hugh curled his fingers, flicked his tongue, and extended his hand into the opening.

“The air’s flowing; there’s another exit below.”

A pleased expression crossed Hugh’s face.

---

He didn’t rush in immediately. Hugh returned to the study’s doorway, observing for a while to ensure the noise from opening the passage hadn’t disturbed anyone. Only then did he head back to the fireplace.

He left his lantern behind—his dark vision was more than sufficient. After tightening his shirt sleeves and hem, he took a deep breath and stepped into the passage.

Inside the secret tunnel, Hugh didn’t hurry forward. He ran his hand along the walls and soon found two metal pull rings, one high and one low. Tugging on the higher one, the wall behind him slowly closed.

Moss covered the tunnel, emitting a faint glow in the darkness. Hugh kicked the stone steps underfoot, which were slightly slippery. He sniffed the air—it was thick with the scent of seawater.

Clearly, this passage led somewhere obvious.

As he descended, Hugh observed his surroundings.

This place didn’t seem entirely man-made. After a short walk, he entered a cavernous space, resembling a natural cave, with a small stream flowing downward beside the path.

Hugh approached the stream, cupped his hands, and took a sip.

“Freshwater, surprisingly.”

With a water source and some stored provisions, survival here could be sustained for quite some time.

He plunged his hand into the water and reactivated his extraordinary senses.

Previously vague, his perception of the water became crystal clear. He seemed to transform into a fish, flowing downstream along the creek until he reached the sea.

The familiar presence seemed to sense his movements, excitedly circling in the sea before slowly emerging onto the shore and approaching him.

Hugh instinctively reached for his pistol but found nothing. He recalled he hadn’t brought any weapons.

He shook his head with a wry smile.

“Well, if it wanted to harm me, it would have done so back at the dock. Better to meet it directly.”

Retracting his senses, Hugh followed the stream downward.

The water babbled gently, and the distant crashing of waves gave him an inexplicable sense of comfort.

Before long, the familiar and grotesque figure appeared before him.

Unlike the feeble state it had shown at the dock, this creature was entirely different now.

It remained a swollen mass of flesh, but the weakness and decay were gone. Several limbs extended from the mass, supporting it awkwardly as it crawled with a strange, unnatural gait.

Amid the swollen flesh, scales were faintly visible.

---

The creature before him resembled more a bloated corpse than a living being, yet it showed unmistakable signs of vitality—a paradox both unsettling and fascinating.

Hugh’s eye twitched. Creatures of this design would have been nightmares in the horror films of his past life.

Normally, confronted with such a shocking appearance, he might have been startled or frightened. But now, he felt only... a strange sense of familiarity.

He could sense its ugliness and knew its appearance was repulsive, yet the feeling seemed unreal somehow.

It was complicated—like encountering a grotesque monster in a video game in a past life. No matter how bizarre the design, it was just pixels on a screen.

So, looking at the creature, Hugh was surprised that it wasn’t as dreadful as he expected.

Perhaps the effect of the symbiotic ritual?

The swollen monster, however, seemed uneasy. It appeared ashamed of its hideous form, curling in on itself as if trying to hide its swollen limbs—a somewhat comical sight.

Seeing this clumsy behavior, much of Hugh’s tension faded.

“Forgive me, my lord, for revealing my ugly body...” came the creature’s muffled voice. It seemed aware that its efforts were futile.

Was it ugly? Indeed, very much so. Yet Hugh knew it shouldn’t look like this—at least in the deep sea, it would appear more normal.

But Hugh didn’t have time to argue because—

“...Did you just call me ‘my lord’?”

The swollen creature seemed to understand his thought and continued, “You are the savior of the cursed, the one who leads us from tragic fate. You are our god.”

Hugh’s face twitched. What was going on with this creature? Why was it suddenly calling him a god?

“Please allow me to explain,” the swollen monster said sincerely.

You certainly owe him an explanation, Hugh thought. Any ordinary person would have fled terrified by now at such reckless behavior.

He crossed his arms and watched the creature.