Indeed, the ocean has diverse environments just as varied as the land above, and the ecosystems within differ greatly from sea to sea.
For example, cod caught in the North Sea won’t swim off the coast of Hawaii, and the fish from the Philippine coral reefs won’t be found in the East Sea.
However, this story doesn’t apply to the monster fish layer.
You can encounter familiar creatures anywhere in the world and at any depth—unless you’re in a special environment like the Hives or something.
If I had to give an analogy, I could point to monsters that emerge from gates.
You can meet goblins and orcs, whether in the deserts of California or the jungles of the Amazon.
And in special environments, such as dungeons, you can find unique monsters alongside goblins and orcs.
Well, goblins and orcs that came out of a gate were simply transported from where they lived, so it’s not strange to find them anywhere, and they tend to die quickly if they land in deserts or such.
So, it makes sense that monster fish like Bellua or Bracchium are discovered all over the Earth.
However, it’s hard to understand how a creature that mutated into a monster fish originated from something that was already here on Earth.
In that case, it honestly seems like something was just randomly mixed together.
“This is a prime example.”
Parang lightly poked a 20m white clownfish monster fish next to him.
When something assumed to be food touched its body, it quickly tried to snap its cut-open belly shut, attempting to swallow Parang.
Parang leisurely dodged it, wedging a harpoon into its closing body before continuing his explanation.
“As you know, clownfish live in coral reefs in tropical seas. So it makes no sense for it to exist in the Drake Hive, classified under the Antarctic Ocean.”
Plus, clownfish typically inhabit shallow waters of less than 100m.
You have to go down to 700m depth to reach the monster fish layer, so logically, a ‘clownfish monster fish swimming in the Drake Hive’ shouldn’t exist.
“But here it is, swimming right in front of us. Does this make you feel anything?”
– Uh…
– It is super mysterious.
– The ocean really is dangerous, huh?
“Well done.”
– Wow, this is crazy!
“Continuing with the explanation, this monster fish has a characteristic of faking its death by splitting its belly and eating other monster fish that come to find it. If you look inside…”
Parang grabbed both sides of the split belly and forcibly tore it further apart.
Perhaps out of exceeding the limit, black blood sprayed out from inside.
– What the heck…
– Did you just tear another monster fish apart…?
“No, this is how it normally is.”
Parang was usually one to practice tearing and killing monster fish! Who could tell where the cut line of a clownfish monster fish might be?
Vertea would probably know, but Parang was ignorant in this area, leading to such light accidents occurring quite frequently.
“Oh, it broke… I used it a lot, didn’t I?”
Such was the fate of monster fish.
Nonetheless, the slaughter broadcast continued.
Whenever a new face was spotted during exploration, he would explain and slaughter, turning into a live curiosity clinic if it was a monster fish Parang didn’t know.
“I want to see both the gills and the roof of the mouth… But since I can’t decide, let’s take a vote.”
And so it went.
Simple as it was, the viewer reactions were overwhelmingly positive. If you’ve ever been to a tuna disassembly show in reality, you could understand why one might feel oddly drawn to this broadcast.
Especially since this tuna was dozens of meters long!
‘Tuna…’
I should consider a monster fish eating show as an event later on.
Surely, Oceanos wouldn’t have neglected monster fish cuisine over such long years.
The distinction between edible and inedible monster fish had reached a remarkably clear level, with formalized cleaning methods and even recommended recipes for some monster fish already established.
“I should definitely try it if I get the chance.”
What would be good to clean? Cooking style? Sashimi? Grilled? Steamed?
Just imagining already made my mouth water. Surprisingly, delicious monster fish really are delicious.
The amount of exercise they endure is unmatched by ordinary fish, resulting in firm flesh and umami…
“Whoa.”
Parang suddenly pulled himself together.
‘Tension. Tension.’
There was a Krino inside the Hive.
What if he let his guard down like last time and got hit by another wide-area mental attack?
Fortunately, Parang had learned something after that Bracchium shock.
“I might need to catch the first sign of rest soon.”
Parang was circling around the square-shaped Hive, conducting a reverse spiral exploration.
This was to minimize the chance of encountering the Krino that would be located in the center.
And indeed, as one moved closer to the center, more and more monster fish exhibiting abnormal phenomena were appearing.
They were moving unnaturally and irregularly.
Monster fish in confusion and flailing about were increasing exponentially.
While the viewers might think, ‘Oh, just another monster fish acting like a monster,’ Parang was keenly aware.
‘These monster fish aren’t acting like monster fish at all.’
Earlier, he had even seen a water snake monster fish tie itself into knots.
‘Let’s catch just one more and call it a day.’
Having made a decision inside, Parang searched for his final prey.
‘That one is what I caught last time, that one lacks impact…’
Parang was now factoring in the broadcast elements. Previously, it felt like a terrifying public service announcement where he just showed one monster fish and said, ‘Don’t go in!’
Now it was turning into a true “broadcast.”
So, wandering like this, he spotted a monster fish.
A creature commonly referred to as a ‘moonfish’ or ‘mulchi’ in pure Korean, which had mutated from a type of shark.
The original moonfish is so bizarre that it’s called a ‘deep-sea phobia inducer.’
To be exact, it wouldn’t be far off to say it’s a creature perched in the infamous uncanny valley between lifeforms and non-lifeforms.
The moonfish’s eeriness stems from its unnaturally large mouth.
When closed, it looks like an ordinary shark, but when it opens its mouth—occupying about 70% of its body length—it resembles a huge bin with eyeballs and a tail stuck to it.
It’s surprisingly found at shallow depths, causing some beginner divers to get startled when a moonfish suddenly pops out, sometimes leading to accidents.
However, just like how ferociously-looking fish often are, the moonfish is a gentle giant that eats plankton.
When it opens its mouth, its suction power isn’t even that strong. Legends about divers being sucked in and dying are all false.
Of course, that applies to the normal moonfish.
When it mutates into a monster fish, everything changes.
“I’ll show you how it’s different.”
Parang turned the camera toward Hinus.
Hinus no longer resembled any fish—it was unnecessary to explain that.
Its main body was hollow, resembling a fish skin awkwardly draped over a toilet paper roll.
The color of its scales, matching human skin, only amplified the eeriness.
Hinus’s gaze was unsettlingly protruding and blank, with just the whites remaining, making it look exactly like a corpse at first glance.
Fins had degenerated; the tail fin was totally gone, while there were just tiny remnants of dorsal and pectoral fins, claiming its former existence.
Moreover, the violent suction power contrasted sharply with its harmless original form.
Hinus was swimming just above the grass bed.
“I’ll show you how it swims without fins shortly. Right now…”
Parang knew how people felt when they first saw Hinus. So he paused his words slightly, allowing viewers to observe quietly.
Hinus was sucking in the surrounding water—and very forcefully.
The grass in its path was almost being uprooted, with both small and large monster fish continuously swept into Hinus’s mouth.
Then, they passed through the body and were expelled from its back end, like they’d been shredded by a sharp blade.
The crimson liquid continuously flowed from Hinus’s back.
Parang figured this was enough, so he moved closer to Hinus’s side.
“Hinus has very little fat and muscle. Just about 10cm beneath the skin, you reach the skeleton.”
Considering that it was a shark measuring around 70m, it could be said that the skeleton was almost directly beneath its skin.
In a bid to prove this, Parang pierced a harpoon into Hinus’s skin and lifted the flesh.
“Here, you can see the bones, right?”
Indeed, there were bones beneath, but rather than the usual arrangement seen in normal fish, it was not a structure with ribs hanging below the spine.
“Hinus has only three bones in its entire body. A cylindrical main skeleton that maintains its overall shape, a support structure, and a propeller.”
So that means this cylindrical body is made up of just one solid bone.
Clearly, it is not the shape of a normal living creature.
The speed at which the chatroom filled up was increasing.
That was likely because Parang wasn’t showing them what they wanted to see on purpose.
– What does the front look like?
– Show a front shot!
– We’re done for; if we don’t type that one more time, they won’t show it.
– Lock.
– Wow, the ocean really is dangerous.
– Lock.
– Me.
He hadn’t planned on making them beg that much.
Parang felt a bit awkward.
He was too excited and ended up giving unnecessary explanations.
“I’ll show you. Please calm down. Why are you so…?”
– Extreme.
– Wow!
– This is it!
– Extreme.
“Still, it seems like a good idea. I’ll consider introducing it moving forward.”
The speed at which the chatroom was filling up skyrocketed.
Since it wasn’t Parang’s concern, he lightly ignored the chat and moved in front of Hinus.
“I’ll warn you ahead of time; you absolutely must not try this. I can endure it, but a regular person would be sucked in immediately.”
– We know without being told.
– Showing a nuclear test video while saying ‘Don’t try this at home,’ right? Hahaha.
Hinus’s insides were basically completely empty.
You could see straight through from the front of its mouth to the back.
However, in the very center of the hollow body, something unusual was present.
– What the hell is that doing inside it?
– What the heck is inside Hinus?
Inside Hinus, a propeller was spinning.
And it was a sharp one, resembling a blender’s blades.
All kinds of monster fish sucked into Hinus’s mouth were pulverized into pieces as they passed through the propeller, a few of them absorbed through a hole behind the propeller.
So, Hinus was indeed in the process of eating.
To be precise, Hinus is always eating 24/7, 365 days a year.
Parang halted his words for a moment, entranced by the dramatic effects.
‘3…2…1…’
“As you can see, this is how Hinus eats. That spinning propeller is an evolution of bone that’s been sharpened. It helps to grind food for easier consumption and also serves the purpose of propelling Hinus.”
Moving again, Parang headed towards Hinus’s rear.
Instantly, a deluge of blood sprayed over Parang, but he brushed it all off easily.
“Now, if you look here, this is the supporting bone keeping the propeller from detaching from the body. The inside is hollow and filled with nerve bundles. Let me cut it.”
– Excuse me?
– What?
Without a care, Parang took out a harpoon and plunged it into the supporting bone, twisting to make a hole.
“Everything you see inside are all nerves. If I cut these…”
Snip, snip.
“This prevents the propeller from moving anymore.”
As Parang had said, when she severed what resembled nerve bundles, the propeller that had been whirring furiously abruptly stopped.
“If left like this, it would be unable to metabolize, leading it to die on its own. Now, if you look at this propeller, the muscle bundles on this side…”
Thus, under Parang’s hand, yet another monster fish met a gruesome end today.
If those creatures had laws, Parang would have likely been subject to immediate execution upon capture.
“Okay! Then today’s broadcast ends here. Never dive, and if you do, always during the day! Don’t go below 500m depth. Don’t follow what you see underwater, and one more thing…”
Anyhow, once more, Parang’s chaotic streaming ended.
