Darkness.

A sea of death.

Screams of terror reverberated through the captain’s cabin. A monstrosity stood in front of them, while a faceless corpse of what used to be their captain sat behind them, as though he were observing their every action and every move. Their minds were set abuzz with terror, while their backs were soaked through with cold sweat.

Sssss! SSSS!! The Kappa stood at approximately 1.5 meters tall, and it licked its lips greedily, almost as though the human beings standing right in front of him were no different from a delectable meal. The bodyguards immediately stood in front of Nishino Mio like a stone wall. They tightened their grip around their guns with trembling as they whispered with great urgency, “Miss, we’ll hold it back. Please run while you still can...”

“Why should I run?” Nishino Mio’s face was ashen, but she stood tall and courageous, “Hold it back. I’m fine. It wouldn’t dare do anything to me. Why do you think I do so much charity work on a regular basis? Do you think it’s because I’ve got too much money to spare?”

She turned around and grabbed the intercommunications device on the captain’s table, “Hello, this is Nishino Mio. Please respond immediately. Alternatively, please transfer me to the auction house’s line right away. Hello? Hello?!”

No response.

“Can’t--... Can’t get through?” One of the bodyguards queried.

His cowardly response was understandable in the circumstances. After...