Chapter 1039: Chapter 579: Bay 1
[These dark caves drip constantly due to excessive moisture, making me feel very uncomfortable. I almost twisted my ankle between these slippery rocks, and the mucus covering them makes it even harder to climb. The puddles stirred and splashed, yet there is nothing when you look at them. The flickering shadows under the torchlight seem to come alive, growing and receding unsettlingly.
My fear has come true! Our torches were extinguished by a sudden wave—we are surrounded! These creatures have features akin to apes but possess fish heads; these aquatic fiends rushed at us suddenly in the darkness amidst loud clamor! I grabbed the fallen torch, and in that moment, I caught a glimpse of scaly limbs waving, crude weapons sharp and spiked glinting in the light reflected by the waves. They didn’t last long once we relit the torches. Cough, one of them bit my neck before I gutted it. The wound stung exceptionally. Our doctor advised me to clean and bandage it carefully...
The wound on my neck has started to fester. By the putrid pool, I observed the flesh around the wound turning grey and wrinkling, falling off in patches, disturbingly like scales. As I write this, I struggle to breathe, my lungs echoing hollowly. My companions laughed, telling me not to worry, it’s just because I inhaled too much of the salty mist pervading these pools.
They all fell asleep. But I remain sleepless, disturbed by the odd, whisper-like sound of the water, as if I’m gently lifted by ocean currents. I didn’t dare tell them the tissue around my wound has completely decayed, revealing a strange silvery membrane; I kept it tightly covered. Just after the campfire burned out, they were surprised to discover me gnawing on raw meat, my indistinct voice inadequate to respond to their queries. I feel I should explain my condition carefully once they wake, maybe then they’ll realize the severity of the problem, and we can leave this damned place and seek help in town.
The rest have passed away. They became victims of that dreadful mutation! Their scales succumbed to decay, turning into soft, fragile flesh. They suffocated for lack of gills! Their eyes are like nightmares! Bright eyes imprisoned by proliferating flesh curtains, struggling, dying amidst obstructions! While washing my webbed hands, my mind is tormented by their awful, feverish blood... I almost vomited. May death bring an end to their prolonged agony!
I don’t even remember why we ventured onto land risking so much. The sea mother provided us everything we needed, why leave her gentle waves? My companions rest in torment and wretchedness, I am already too weak to continue the journey on land. Now I want to go home, back to the embrace of the sea... (Unreadable scraping marks fill the remaining part of the paper)]
At this point, Lance puts down the bloodstained diary with a strange expression; according to the descriptions above, this seems to be a human team carrying out some unknown mission in the Bay.
They unexpectedly encountered an attack from Fishmen, the diary’s owner was bitten, then went through a mutation, with scales rather than flesh growing over the festering wound.
Simultaneously, harboring alternative urges, eating raw meat, loathing land, yearning for the sea.
Until one midnight, the diary’s owner fell into an uncontrollable state, killing all unguarded companions.
When it regains clarity, it sees the broken bodies of companions and lifeless eyes drowned wide; it keeps wanting to clean the bloodstains from its hands, then discovers it has webbed hands, and the bite marks on the corpses made it awfully uneasy.
The last remaining humanity made it write the last segment of the diary, but it is obvious that later on, it has completely lost reason.
Its thought patterns sank into those akin to a Deep Diver, its mutation completely altered not only the body but reached the mental level, thus returned to the deep sea... becoming one of those Deep Divers.
If not for these diaries remaining, probably no one in this world would know what actually happened here back then.
Lance couldn’t help but recall the Curse associated with a large number of wounded after the Fishmen’s invasion, arising from this human being bitten and mutated into a Deep Diver.
If not for Bless dispelling the Curse, it probably would suddenly erupt with a massive wave of fully mutated Fishmen slaughtering, then turning to rush into the water one day.
Now he figured out the origins of these Fishmen—through continual attacks on humans, transforming humans into their kind.
"Enemies of mankind, these Alien Races must be eradicated!"
Lance classified these Deep Divers parasitizing humans as enemies of mankind, and must strike if encountered.
Raising the torch to probe around, it is evident this is a long-abandoned campsite, the original site where the scene once occurred.
The chosen location back then was because there were no water puddles around, so there weren’t signs of floodwaters.
Just surrounded by a salty, damp mist almost tangible, little can remain, tents and wooden frameworks rot away long ago.
As for the corpses, who knows when they became monster fodder, not a shred of bone left, but the battle scars on the surrounding rocks allow a glimpse into the scene once unfolding here.
