Chapter 71. The Marauder, No. 9 (3)
“Yukgap, I came to help!”
Victoria waved at Yukgap from atop the watercraft.
Yukgap stared at her in disbelief.
“What did you do?”
“Nothing much. I just sent a little electricity through the surrounding water.”
Victoria pointed toward the rear of the watercraft.
A cable connected to a battery had been lowered into the sea.
“Sharks have ampullae of Lorenzini. They use them to detect the faint electrical signals of their prey.”
She explained confidently,
“So if you spread a strong electrical current through the water for a short time, you can disrupt a shark’s senses!”
Yukgap looked bewildered.
“How did you know that?”
“A nice lizard told me.”
With that, Victoria violently accelerated the watercraft.
She circled around No. 9 and shouted,
“I won’t even let you get close to our chef!”
Electricity continuously flowed into the sea through the cable beneath the watercraft.
No. 9 clutched his head and screamed.
“Stop! Stooooop! My head hurts!”
It was hard to believe this was the same No. 9 who had been attacking so fiercely just moments ago.
He had fallen into complete confusion.
Yukgap did not miss the opportunity.
“Now!”
The daggers in his hands flashed.
Gritting his teeth, Yukgap drove one straight into the back of No. 9’s neck.
No. 9’s dark skin split open.
Red blood burst into the water.
“Aaaaaagh! No. 6, what the hell are you doing?!”
No. 9 screamed and twisted violently.
Fortunately, the surprise attack had worked.
Yukgap shouted through clenched teeth,
“Don’t call me by that name!”
He raised his dagger again, preparing to strike.
At that moment, No. 9’s hand shot up from beneath the water and violently grabbed Yukgap by the throat.
“You might be faster than me on land.”
No. 9 panted heavily.
“But this is the ocean!”
With those words, he dragged Yukgap deep beneath the surface.
Cold water closed around him and crushed the air from his lungs.
Apparently, No. 9 intended to drown him.
“Ghk!”
“You were built for land combat, while I was made for naval warfare.”
No. 9 sounded triumphant.
“Picking a fight with me in the sea was a mistake from the start!”
Yukgap gritted his teeth.
“You don’t know that yet!”
He kicked upward with all his strength.
His foot slammed into the arm gripping his throat.
Caught off guard, No. 9’s arm was knocked aside.
“W-What? But your leg...!”
No. 9 stared in shock at the leg he had clearly bitten off earlier.
Yukgap panted.
“My employer bought me enough time to regenerate.”
Just as he said, bone and flesh had slowly grown back over the severed limb.
It seemed to have regenerated while Victoria kept No. 9 confused.
“Hup!”
Yukgap kicked off the water with his still-incomplete leg and shot upward.
The skin had not fully grown back yet, but it was functional.
He bent at the waist, used the recoil, and drove his dagger into No. 9’s neck once again.
“Aaaaaagh!”
No. 9 screamed as the blade tore into him.
Yukgap tightened his grip and forced it deeper.
“Good. Just like this...!”
“Ghk!”
Realizing he was in danger, No. 9 shoved Yukgap away and rapidly swam backward.
He clutched the wounds around his neck and breathed heavily.
“No. 6... I actually liked you more than most of the Archons.”
Blood bubbled from his wounds and mixed with the seawater every time he breathed.
His eyes began glowing ominously.
The playful, almost carefree expression from before vanished completely.
“I’m really angry now.”
No. 9 opened his mouth wide.
Rows of interlocking fangs gleamed viciously.
Then he released a piercing roar across the sea.
“ROOOOOOAR!”
The sound thundered through the area.
White foam began erupting around No. 9.
Then distorted shrieks answered from across the ocean.
“SKREEEEEEEE!”
A swarm of grotesque fish appeared through the foam.
They looked almost like miniature versions of sharks.
“W-What are those?”
Victoria muttered fearfully at the sight of the unfamiliar creatures.
Yukgap immediately explained,
“Those are No. 9’s overtechnology weapons. Nine Fish.”
“They’re biological weapons grown from No. 9’s cells.”
The Nine Fish rapidly swarmed toward them, churning up white foam.
Realizing how serious the situation had become, Yukgap shouted to Victoria,
“Run, Victoria! The Nine Fish can’t be controlled!”
“They’ll shove anything they see into their mouths! Even No. 9 can’t fully control them!”
