CHAPTER 67: CHAPTER 67 – SEA MONSTER V

Two days later...

The sea breeze blew gently, carrying the familiar salty scent. Waves came and went along the beach that was now bustling once more.

The fishermen were repairing their nets, children ran along the pier, and the women smiled with relief. They could finally go back to the sea to catch fish again.

"The sea is safe now," said one fisherman while tying a rope on his boat. "That monster is dead. We can work as usual again."

Another fisherman nodded. "It’s all thanks to Lord Delon. If it weren’t for the soldiers he commanded, that monster wouldn’t have been defeated."

The first fisherman agreed. "You’re right. Lord Delon is truly remarkable."

Laughter and chatter filled the air. There was no more tension, as if the fear from a few days ago had only been a nightmare that had now ended.

One fisherman climbed aboard his boat and went sailing with the others. Their faces were bright, grateful to earn their living again.

However, one person did not share their joy. Crowne did not celebrate that peace.

He sat on a large rock near the shore, staring blankly at the waves. The sea looked so calm.

"Where’s that girl? Has she been killed?" he muttered quietly. It had been two days since he searched for the girl who had once invited him to slay the sea monster. No matter where he looked, he couldn’t find her.

Crowne’s intuition told him the girl was still alive, and that she was the key to all of this. It was just a feeling—maybe wrong, maybe right.

"It feels like she knew the true form of that sea monster. If she didn’t, she wouldn’t have left when people started saying the monster was dead."

Crowne was certain of that, but he had nothing to support his own argument. He let out a long sigh.

"Still thinking about it?" asked the old man who had given Crowne a place to stay.

The old man carried a basket full of fish, a gift from the fishermen. He stood beside the rock where Crowne sat.

"Don’t think too much about it. Everything’s fine now," the old man continued.

Crowne didn’t respond. He just kept staring at the vast ocean.

"You must learn to accept reality. The monster is dead, and people need to return to their normal lives. Not everything needs to be suspected, young man."

"If everything’s fine, then why were there people found dead the morning after the monster was defeated?" Crowne asked back.

"Do you have proof it was the sea monster’s doing? Are you sure it wasn’t sharks or some other creature? They could’ve been killed by humans. There’s no evidence that the sea monster did it," the old man said firmly.

Crowne glanced at him for two seconds, then turned back toward the sea. He had no proof, but his instincts told him it was related to the sea monster.

The old man shook his head slowly. "Two days have passed, and no fishermen have died since. That means everything is getting better," he said before leaving.

Crowne glanced at him once more.

"I trust my instincts," he whispered.

**

That evening.

The sky turned orange, and the wind felt heavier than usual. At the dock, a boy came running and shouting.

"Someone’s dead!"

"There’s a corpse!"

People turned their heads. The boy was panting, pointing toward the western beach.

"There’s a body on the western shore! It’s..." he swallowed hard. "It’s Uncle Ruel’s group."

The people’s faces turned pale with panic. They quickly ran toward the direction the boy pointed.

When they arrived, it was true—three bodies lay on the sand, their forms mangled. Two were only half intact, while the last one was whole but with a face so destroyed it couldn’t be recognized.

Crowne arrived at the scene. He knelt and examined one of the corpses.

There were no bite marks.

"This looks like an attack from magic," he said quietly.

The mothers and children nearby began to panic. Some looked at one another nervously, their hearts pounding fast.

"Is the monster still alive?" one of them said.

"NO!" shouted the old man.

Everyone turned toward him, shocked by his loud answer. They all stared, waiting for an explanation.

"This doesn’t prove they were attacked by the sea monster. There might have been a fight at sea. It could have been pirates. There are many possibilities," he explained.

The crowd looked at one another again, confused and afraid.

The old man continued, explaining his reasoning with confidence. His firm words made several of the townsfolk calm down.

"...I’ll ask Lord Delon to send investigators here to capture those pirates," he said seriously.

People began nodding. They looked slightly relieved. They trusted the old man’s words.

But Crowne found it strange. He couldn’t understand why the old man was so insistent that the sea monster was dead. It didn’t make sense.

"Could he be...?"

Crowne shook his head. The old man had given him shelter. There was no way he was a bad person. There had to be another reason for his stubbornness.

Crowne stood, looking at the sea again. He narrowed his eyes. The water looked calm.

"We’ll see tonight," he said.

**

The next morning, everything was truly normal. Life went on as usual. That night, there had been no attacks at all.

Crowne scratched his head, confused. His certainty began to waver.

"Could it be that the monster really was defeated?" he whispered to himself.

He sighed deeply, closed his eyes, and looked up at the sky. He stayed like that for nearly a minute before lowering his gaze back toward the sea.

He shrugged, walked out of the house, and wandered along the beach. Several fishermen looked anxious. They were afraid to sail, but life’s demands pushed them to do so anyway.

Crowne just watched. He walked until he reached the large rocks in the east. He climbed up and gazed at the sea.

"Should I just accept that the monster has been defeated?" he muttered.

He closed his eyes, lying down on his back, staring at the clear sky. But a second later, someone appeared and sat beside him. Instinctively, Crowne sprang up and reached for his weapon.

"I’m not your enemy," the person said.

He turned toward her, seeing a bright smile on her face. She extended her hand. "My name is Daisy. We once fought together at the gate of Doomsty City," she said.

Crowne frowned, recalling the memory. "You... the one in the cloak back then?"

Daisy nodded. "Nice to meet you!"