Alice slowly approached Alexandra.
It wasn’t just Parang who was startled by the sudden appearance of Alice Melville.
The main character of the memory, Alexandra, was equally astonished, just like Parang.
Given the situation, it felt more like sheer terror than surprise.
“W-Who are you? A monster?”
Strangely enough, since the moment Alice appeared, Alexandra had been speaking without opening her mouth.
Her voice felt like it emerged from the space around her, not from her mouth.
As if she was narrating her inner thoughts like in a movie or drama.
It seemed Alexandra herself was quite shocked by this fact. Parang recalled that in the original version, she didn’t have any telepathy skills.
“Wait a minute, what’s going on… Why does my voice sound like this?!”
Alexandra’s eyes trembled.
If one considers the journey she undertook from the moment of ascension to her current situation, it’s easy to imagine the confusion she was experiencing. It’s no wonder she was terrified.
Fortunately, Alice didn’t seem to have turned so cold as to frighten someone caught in such a situation.
“Calm down. I’m not a monster, and I won’t hurt you.”
With Alice’s gentle voice, Alexandra felt her tension begin to ease. After all, as soon as she realized they could at least converse, her fear of the unknown diminished.
With a trembling voice, Alexandra asked, “Who are you, really?”
“I’m Alice Melville. I’m a member of Oceanos, the group you’ve been looking for…”
At the mention of being a member of Oceanos, she hesitated for a moment.
“Oceanos…!!”
Alexandra exclaimed, surprised.
“What, what is Oceanos?”
“It’s a hunter group operating from the depths of the sea. The strange fish you just fought against are typically what we hunt.”
“Wait, does that mean you’ve been watching us?”
In response to that question, Alice quietly reached into the darkness, specifically into the depths of the cave, and summoned something as her answer.
Whoooom—
From the darkness emerged a much smaller Capulus than what Parang had seen before.
“T-That’s…!!”
“C-Capulus?!”
Both Alexandra and Parang gasped in shock simultaneously.
Parang was nearly thrown off balance.
They never imagined a Capulus would come out here. Which, of course, is entirely understandable.
“I’ve been watching you the whole time. From start to finish.”
“What in the world….”
Although realizing that someone had been stalking them made Alexandra aware of her situation, she didn’t seem to blame or be angry with Alice.
No, to be precise, it seemed she decided to focus on something more important.
“Y-You need to meet someone right now. A hunter named Han Siwoo…”
‘Ah, talking about the quest then.’
Earlier, Parang had also seen Han Siwoo mention receiving a quest to “find Oceanos.”
But…
“Unfortunately, that’s not possible.”
‘Of course it wouldn’t be possible.’
Parang thought.
“W-Why not?”
‘Well, it’s obviously a matter of distance.’
Alexandra was currently in the East Sea, while Han Siwoo was in Hawaii.
Unless Alice had mastered a duplication technique, swimming to that location would take at least eight hours by plane.
As Parang thought, completely unaware of what Alice was about to say, she blurted out something completely different.
“It’s part of the plan.”
“W-What kind of plan…!”
“According to Han Siwoo’s plan, I’m not supposed to meet him right now.”
“H-His plan?”
“Yes. The fact that you’ve been transferred here is also part of the plan he set.”
“What do you mean… How can I believe that?!”
“Here.”
Alice approached Alexandra, knelt down in front of her, and extended her hand.
What rested upon her palm was something both Alexandra and Parang recognized well.
“T-That ring…!”
It was the ‘Happy Ending’ ring crafted by Han Siwoo and given to the heroines.
“Would this be evidence?”
“W-Well, what if you stole it or took it by force…!!”
“Do you really think it’s possible for me to take something from that person? I can’t even leave the water.”
At that statement, Alexandra fell silent.
Indeed, it was a good persuasion tactic. Whatever the truth, it sounded correct from Alexandra’s perspective.
It appeared she was swayed by Alice’s logic and slowly began to nod in understanding.
‘Speaking of which, Han Siwoo has a plan.’
Parang wasn’t particularly surprised. From previous memories, he had shown suspicious behavior and had seemed to know something, not to mention he was the one who gifted the rings to all the heroines.
It was highly likely he knew they would end up in the sea after their ascension.
In terms of information, Parang had merely confirmed what he already knew through Alice’s words.
Yet questions still remained.
‘How on earth did he find that out.’
It’s unbelievable that after defeating a god, he would receive a scroll about the ascension ceremony, ascend, and suddenly be transferred to the undersea world of Hawaii, battling all sorts of creatures, only to meet a terrifying monster that pressured his stat screen in the end.
How on earth did Han Siwoo know that?
Parang’s mind was filled with very reasonable questions.
However, this seemed to mean little to Alexandra.
From the moment she accepted that Han Siwoo had a plan, she appeared unconcerned with her fate or the safety of Han Siwoo.
“Well, that’s a relief. If it’s Siwoo’s plan, then I can trust it.”
Parang, who had been deep in thought, was startled when he saw Alexandra’s expression.
She looked nothing like someone who’d just been trembling in fear in the depths of the unknown. Her face was now bright and cheerful.
‘Wait, is her trust in him this blind?’
Certainly, the Slayers had immense trust in Han Siwoo, but… it didn’t seem this blind.
‘Then again, it could be because she found hope in a difficult situation.’
Still, that radiant expression of hers, devoid of any anxiety or worry, seemed to suggest she viewed Han Siwoo as “the perfect person who succeeds in everything.”
As far as Parang knew, Han Siwoo was not that kind of person.
In the original version, he faced defeats, failed plans, and sometimes suffered significant losses.
Yet he always fought to the end, ultimately breaking everything, achieving his goals.
‘That’s why there were a lot of discussions about tag fishing and title fishing.’
Even Parang thought that aspect could indeed raise some eyebrows.
A munchkin losing a battle? What nonsense is that?
The point is, Han Siwoo is by no means “a perfect human who never fails.”
Given this, Alexandra’s level of trust in him was unusually high.
But then again, considering Alexandra had followed Han Siwoo so closely, that could make sense.
As Parang wavered between “it makes sense” and “that’s suspicious,” he ultimately concluded it was possible.
There was simply too much information to delve into.
Whether his head felt like it might explode or not, Alexandra’s demeanor had completely changed—180 degrees.
It was as if she now approached the situation as a trivial event that would simply pass.
Such a mindset was far removed from the gravity of her current predicament.
Whether she was deliberately trying to push the situation to the back of her mind or genuinely believed that was the case, Parang’s head throbbed again as she pressed her forehead.
“Can you tell me what plan Siwoo is concocting?”
“…No. That’s not possible.”
“…Why not?”
“My friend, who is watching this memory, must not know that.”
“W-What does that mean… Ah.”
Alexandra thought over what Alice had just said for a moment and then seemed to realize something as she looked at her necklace, ‘Evidence.’
“Is it because of this… that you came to find me?”
“Exactly. According to Han Siwoo, there’s someone who must watch our conversation right now.”
Alice turned her head and gazed into empty air towards where Parang was.
To her, it was certainly just empty space, yet strangely enough, Parang felt as though she locked eyes with him.
“Plus, I need to ensure not just this conversation is captured, but also my memories.”
“Your memories too… I understand.”
“Then, please do it.”
“Oh, but I have a few questions first.”
“What is it?”
“Am I going to die soon?”
Alice fell silent for a moment before answering in a slightly trembling voice.
“…Yes.”
“I see. Well, that’s strange since it’ll be my first time dying.”
“Is that all?”
“Pardon?”
“Your thoughts on death. I mean…”
“Oh.”
Alexandra smiled gently.
“It’s okay. After all, it’s not like I’m really dying.”
“…What?”
“It’s Han Siwoo’s plan, right? There’s no way he would concoct a plan where I—or any of the Slayers—would be sacrificed. Even if I were to die here, I’d probably revive somewhere or go to another world and live happily with Siwoo.”
“…”
Parang was at a loss for words.
‘No matter how you put it, bringing back the dead…’
It doesn’t seem plausible. Even if this is a modern ‘fantasy’ world, how is that…
Be that as it may, Alexandra maintained her joyful demeanor.
“Why are you silent? Am I wrong?”
“…”
“If I am, please don’t say it. Since I’m going to die anyway, I want to die with hope.”
“…I understand.”
“Do you have any last words you would like to leave behind?”
“Pardon? What do you mean…?”
“To your friend who is watching this memory. Wouldn’t it be a good idea to drop some hints?”
“Ah…”
At her words, Alice fell silent for a moment before uttering one brief line.
“…Ascend, Parang. That’s the only way.”
“Alright. Now, put the memories you want to keep into this necklace.”
“…Yes.”
With that, Alexandra and Alice each began to pour their memories into the necklace in turn.
Szzz— crackle…
“What is this….”
Seeing ‘Evidence’ breaking into fractures, Alexandra looked quite astonished.
“I’ve temporarily sealed it with my power. My friend shouldn’t see this too early.”
After Alexandra’s memories were successfully captured in ‘Evidence,’ the scene in the East Sea Hive came to an end.
And immediately after…
Whoosh—!!
“W-Whaaat?!”
Parang’s consciousness began to be sucked into another place, feeling as if he were being drawn downwards.
Presumably, it would lead him into Alice’s memories.
‘Alice…’
Parang clenched his fist.
