"Wrecked whales are attacking whaling ships...... That sounds like revenge. ”

"So the whales that appear in the southern part of Wakayama every few years are likely to be formed by the souls of whales that were killed in those years?"

Kamiyagawa fell silent, just thinking to himself.

Internationally, whaling is strictly restricted in order to prevent overhunting of all species of whales and to protect the rich natural resource of the whale family for future generations.

Most countries are signatories to the International Convention on the Control of Whaling.

However, there are also a very small number of countries that are still engaged in whaling activities.

Japan is one of them, and the amount of whaling is so large that it even conducts commercial whaling under the guise of "scientific research".

To this day, whaling ships are still active in the southern waters of Wakayama in Hokkaido, Ayukawa in Miyagi Prefecture in the northeast, Wada in Chiba in central China, and Kamiya River.

After Kamiya quieted down, the other three people in the car were still talking.

Listening to their conversations, we can know that Yoshio Tasho, as the official soul exterminator in the Kiranan area of Wakayama, has also participated in the activities of retiring whales in the past.

However, with their strength, they can only deal with the strange talk of the middle and lower reaches of the D-class at most.

In the face of the whale disaster that has gathered together with C-level strength, they are basically assisting and fighting.

In addition, Yoshio Tasho and others also talked about the current situation of whaling ships in the sea area-

Most of Wakayama's whaling ships have returned to the harbor these days.

However, there are still a few ships that have left the far seas of the Pacific Ocean and are still on their way back.

……

It's night.

It is located about 60 nautical miles from the port in the southern part of Wakayama.

A whaling ship called the "Akimaru".

The Akimaru is an ocean-going trawler with a speed of about 16 knots.

At a distance of 60 nautical miles, it takes about two hours to reach the port at full speed.

The captain of the Akimaru, named Yoshitoki Yasunaga, is a middle-aged man in his 40s with rich experience in going to sea.

At this time, Ernst & Young was standing on the deck, staring at the dark sea at night.

The sea was surprisingly calm tonight, but there seemed to be an undercurrent.

Lights were on the deck behind Captain Ernst & Young, and the carcass of a giant baleen whale that had just been salvaged was being laid aside.

Sailors are busy making preliminary preparations for the whale.

The Akimaru returned this time after receiving a notice from the Wakayama area.

The reason is: "The wind and waves at sea are urgent, and we will return immediately." ”

Generally speaking, the captain of a whaling ship in the southern waters of Wakayama will immediately change course and go to the nearest port after receiving such a notice.

In the whaling industry, there is a rumor -

At certain times, there are revenant tales of whales gathering at sea.

Moreover, it is said that this whale ghost only specializes in raiding whaling ships.

Of course, this kind of strange sea tale in the industry is basically only circulated in the mouths of sailors and crews.

Most people don't have the opportunity to experience it firsthand.

There are many taboos about going to sea, and a considerable number of seafarers prefer to believe this appalling legend.

However, the whaling industry is very profitable, and the output of whale meat, whale skin, whale oil, etc., can bring considerable economic income.

Strange stories can't scare whaling ships, and many people are still eager for whaling.

"In just over an hour, you'll be at the port."

Captain Ernst & Young thought as he held the fence in his hand as he withdrew his gaze from the dark and calm sea and turned to see the crew dismembering the harvest of the voyage.

The deck beneath his feet was dripping with blood, reflecting the whitish light.

At this time, the first mate of the ship came to his side with a strange expression: "Captain, it seems that something strange has happened, I think you have to come and see." ”

……

Captain's room.

The cabin was accompanying the voyage, swaying steadily and slightly.

The various instruments in the captain's room are in operation, and the indicator lights are flickering on and off.

"Captain Ernst & Young, sonar on ......"

The first mate preached into the sonar system.

As you can see from the sonar, there seem to be many huge creatures moving underwater at a distance of about 20 nautical miles from the Akimaru.

Moreover, it followed the route of the Akimaru all the way.

"What is this? Whale pod? Ernst & Young looked at the situation on the radar and frowned.

"I don't know...... I can't say it, it's just weird. The first mate shook his head, and after about three or four minutes, his expression became horrified, pointing to the radar picture, and his tone trembled slightly, "That's it, here it is again, Captain!" ”

In fact, without the first mate's reminder, Captain Ernst & Young can also see the sudden abnormality.

The "things" that were clearly displayed on the sonar just now suddenly disappeared.

Disappeared without a trace.

As if it never existed.

First Mate: "Just ten minutes ago, it was the same, and the thing on the sonar showed that it was about 30 nautical miles away from us, and we followed it all the way. Then they suddenly disappeared, and by the time they were seen again, the distance had narrowed to more than 20 nautical miles. 10 nautical miles in 10 minutes, this ......"

"Don't think about it, bastard!" Captain Ernst & Young directly interrupted the first mate's words, "Maybe I encountered a military submarine or something." ”

Although he said this, in fact, Ernst & Young's expression also became very unnatural.

"The Akimaru is moving forward at full speed, and we will return to port as fast as possible!"

……

About another twenty minutes passed.

The originally calm sea seems to have become stronger.

The hull of the Akimaru shook violently.

Several of the sailors who were working on the deck suddenly became unsteady on their feet and fell to the ground.

Wait for them to staggering to their feet and look out to sea.

On the originally dark sea, the waves are surging, especially in the distance, there are some huge white objects, which are disappearing in the waves.

Those white objects that were churning in the waves seemed to be far away from the Akimaru.

It stands to reason that at night, sailors cannot see that far with the naked eye.

But I don't know why, those "things" that sink or float on the surface of the sea, as if they are constantly swimming, are unusually conspicuous.

"Whew-"

"Hum—"

The sailors began to hear sounds from the sea around them.

The voice was ethereal and long, lonely and pathetic.

Like the heavy sigh of the ocean.

The sailors looked at each other -

"Whale chirping?"

"No...... No way? That's not what you usually hear, right? ”

“……”

Moreover, it was not only the abnormal whale chirping, but also the individual crew members of the Akimaru who heard other sounds on the surface of the sea, which had become very noisy.

Like the sound of a conch, mixed with the sound of the wind and the sound of whales.

Intermittent, whimpering.

"Hey, do you hear me? The sound of blowing a conch? ”

"No, don't scare yourself."

"Really, really, you listen."

"It's ...... obviously"

The dark waves were tumbling non-stop.

At some point, the sailors, who were in the midst of an uneasy conversation, suddenly fell silent, and almost all of them had expressions of horror and fear on their faces.

"Woo-"

At this point in time, the sound of a conch horn sounding on the surface of the sea becomes unusually clear.

And, in the midst of the wretched song played by the conch, everyone on board heard another, even more terrifying sound.

This kind of sound should not appear at sea.

At least it is absolutely impossible to appear on the Akimaru.

It was the voice of a boy speaking, obviously not too loud, mixed with the ethereal and heavy sound of whales and waves, but it could be clearly recognized—

"Mom?"

"Are you there? Mom? ”

The Akimaru was full of adults, and there were no little boys.

……

A port in the southern part of Wakayama.

Personnel here have been evacuated.

Only uniformed Metropolitan Police Department personnel were active.

The Metropolitan Police Department's Special Investigation and Countermeasures Office has the authority to mobilize some special police forces that are not soul exterminators.

Most of this special Metropolitan Police Department force has participated in operations against strange stories.

Like in the previous battles against the Fat Powder Immortal and the Plague God, there are also these personnel activities.

A temporary office in the harbor.

Yoshio Tasho and the others are now busy frying the pot.

"That whaling ship called Akimaru is on the way back, right?"

"Yes. Judging from its positioning, it is already very close to the port, and it is still moving rapidly, and it will arrive at the port in ten minutes at most. ”

"But we can't get in touch with the ship, what happened to them?"

"Mr. Tado, that...... Look on the radar! What are those things? ”

"Whales, these are whales, right?"

“……”

And Kamiyagawa was sitting quietly in the corner of the office scrolling through his phone, out of tune with the tension around him.

Until Yoshio Tasho turned his head and called him: "Kamiya-kun, the wrecked whale...... The whale seems to be coming! ”

"Ahh Kamiya put away his phone and nodded, "What should I do then?" ”

"You're the commander here!" Yoshio Tasho looked anxious.

"Uh...... Not really. I don't have any experience in retiring whales, and I'm not very good at fighting in the sea. The main reason for sending me here is to prevent the whales from coming ashore, and I don't understand other things. If you don't watch it, I'll just cooperate with you. ”

Kamiyagawa seemed to be a little lacking in interest and didn't seem very positive.

It is true that he has no experience in commanding operations, and he is indeed not good at sea operations.

The ability is limited, and many things are beyond help.

It's useless to be in a hurry.

As long as the wrecked whale is prevented from coming ashore, it is a trust of loyalty.

"Anyway, let's go to the harbor first!"

"Okay."

Kamiyagawa did not refuse.

……

Harbour side.

The sea was calm tonight, but it suddenly became very rough.

Officers in Metropolitan Police Department uniforms walked back and forth with large flashlights.

The searchlight on the harbor swept through, and the silhouette of a fishing boat could already be seen in the distance.

That should be the Akimaru on its way back.

The sea on the edge of the harbor is not very calm, and the Akimaru is even more unusual.

The water behind the hull of the ship was as agitated as if it were boiling, and some huge white objects appeared and disappeared.

"Wrecked whales! Those are the wreckage whales! Yoshio Tasho pointed to the sea and shouted.

Huge searchlight, lights flickering.

"Whew-"

"Hum—"

Above the sea, there was an ethereal, extremely abnormal whale call.

Then I saw a huge white patch of white around the Akimaru coming to the surface.

The water splashes.

Some dark blue, like "blue tears" of light flashed.

Kamiyagawa stood on the edge of the harbor pier, using his slashing technique to stare at his pupils, so he could see clearly.

The white thing was a gigantic skeleton.

The bones are scaled and spliced together, and under the illumination of searchlights, they look extremely hideous.

A complete whale skeleton!

This thing must be a wrecked whale.

"Whew-"

The unusually huge whale jumped out of the water, flipped over and crashed straight into the Akimaru.

The Akimaru swayed and capsized towards the sea.

"Whew-"

"Hum—"

At the same time, several more skeleton whales emerged from the water, screaming in mournful sorrow and striking the whaling ship with their white miserable skeletal bodies.

The dark blue dots on the surface of the water flickered even more violently.

Around the hull of the Akimaru, several work boats were heading towards the dock.

It was the ship's crew who were abandoning ship and evacuating.

But the wrecked whales, who didn't seem to be interested in the boats, just kept jumping out of the sea and ramming the whaling ships continuously and violently.

But because the movement of the whales is too big.

Several of the work boats that were being evacuated were sunk by the huge waves, and the screams on the sea continued.

The crew who fell into the water began to swim desperately towards the shore.

I don't know how many of them can swim to shore smoothly.

On the pier, several speedboats controlled by Metropolitan Police Department officers have already sailed out, and the motors are roaring, trying to rescue the people who have fallen into the water as much as possible.

"Whew-"

"Hum—"

The ethereal whale chirping continued.

Another unusually large whale jumped out, and the Akimaru, which had already toppled and tilted, sank completely in the final impact.

The bloodied baleen whale carcass on the deck also fell into the sea.

The wreckage whales swirled around the baleen whale carcass and whined for a while, and finally all of them headed for the pier.

"The wreckage is going to storm the docks, prepare for battle, shoot!"

Yoshio Tadoko spoke loudly.

Bang bang bang!

Gunshots rang out along the pier.

Generally speaking, it must be a weapon with supernatural strength in order to effectively damage the strange tale itself.

And the special firearms worn by the police officers on the dock are, to put it bluntly, ordinary thermal weapons.

The number of transcendent firearms and weapons is already small.

However, the bullets used in their guns were specially made.

Similar to the spirit-destroying silver bullet used by Yuuki Shinkenyu, the spirit-breaking iron projectile that Kamiyagawa received from the Metropolitan Police Department's Special Investigation Countermeasures Room before.

It's just that the exorcism ammunition fired by ordinary weapons does only limited damage to the whales.

"The strength of a single whale is probably in the E and D range. However, a large number of whales are gathered together, and they can almost have the threat level of C-class weirdness. ”

Kamiyagawa didn't immediately take out the [Banshee] to participate in the battle, but first roughly assessed the strength of this group of whales.

"Whew-"

A huge whale roared and rushed to the shore of the pier, and the waves rose high, and the faint blue fluorescent light rippled in the water.

At the same time, there seemed to be a faint sound of a conch horn on the sea.

The faint blue fluorescence seemed to be being controlled by the sound of the horn, lingering around the whale, holding its skeleton to the ground.

"Hum—"

Supported by the blue dots of light, the whale broke out of the water and tumbled in mid-air.

The docks became extremely chaotic, and the personnel were immediately dispersed.

Noisy gunfire continued.

Tian Suo's uncle and nephew have already taken action as soul slayers.

Masaichi Tadosho threw out a handful of yellow rune paper made of cinnabar.

Yoshio Tadosho shook his head and hurriedly rang a kagura bell.

Kagura's bells rang incessantly, urging scattered yellow rune paper hunting and flying.

Many of the yellow talismans clinged to the body of the whale, and then burst open, setting off a powerful wave of qi!

Tian Suo's uncle and nephew's means of controlling the yellow runes were far inferior to the little witch of the onizuka, and the power of the explosion of a lot of yellow runes was only as powerful as the two or three runes controlled by the little witch.

However, it is still possible to use this method to treat a single whale.

"Hum—"

The skeleton of the whale that rushed to the front burst apart in the blast.

Scattered pale bones fell to the docks and to the sea.

Woo woo - woo woo -

At this time, the intermittent sound of the conch coming out of the sea became a little clearer.

Blue points of light flew on the surface of the sea, holding up the scattered whale bones, and gathered together.

The whale, which had fallen apart, seemed to be being put back together.

The serious and experienced Yoshio Tasho couldn't help but be a little confused when he saw this abnormal scene: "The wrecked whales are reuniting? Why? Nothing like this has ever happened before! ”

The scattered whales regrouped......

This kind of thing is unheard of.

Never happened before!

And the young Tasosho Masaichi turned his head and looked at Kamiya River, who was standing not far away, with a face full of grief and indignation: "Kamiya-kun, why are you just watching!?" ”

Kamiyagawa really hasn't made a move yet.

He stood facing the sea, unaffected by the turmoil around him. The pupils, which were already condensed, were even deeper and shining, looking at a specific point on the surface of the sea without moving.

Kamiyagawa seemed to notice something.

He could feel that there was something else on the surface of the sea in the distance, where the white bones of the wrecked whales kept churning.

The thing that's blowing the horn.

There's one more chapter later

(End of chapter)