Ultraman cubs begin to wreak havoc.

But why read this?

It was already dusk when we arrived at Kisarazu.

We caught the last ferry. If we had missed it, we almost would have had to spend the night here.

After all, it was this late, and there were very few types of trucks, with only a sparse number of dedicated vehicles parked around.

This ship, which only travels back and forth over the short distance connecting the east and west of Tokyo Bay, will probably never experience the happiness of being a ship before its life ends. The person being replaced thinks about these boundless things as he sits on the deck, feeling the night sea breeze.

Upon returning to the research institute in Yokosuka, the replaced person was immediately tasked with organizing the investigation data on the Ogasawara Sea. The investigation couldn't proceed without completing this work. However, for some reason, Subaru discovered that the replaced person had a strange urge to return to that sea as soon as possible.

Has...the enemy already made their move?

Subaru, having thought of something, began to perk up.

At this moment, the lights of the Chiba Coastal Complex flickered intermittently.

The person being replaced had grown tired of the view and went into a guest room, then went to the deck on the opposite side.

"Mr. Katsumi".

A man's voice came from the side, and I panicked in embarrassment, my legs went weak.

Looking over, the man sitting at the back of the chair was Tetsuo Uchihara. He slowly stood up and walked over, and the person being replaced gave a stiff bow.

"We can go back to Yokosuka now."

"Yes."

The person opposite him stared at the person he had replaced with his slit-like eyes on his light black face.

Does this man also work in the sea? That's probably why he got scorched by the sun.

No, compared to that, why would he board this ferry?

The person being replaced was thinking this unconsciously, while Gen Subaru's mind was racing, and he realized that the 'main storyline' might be coming.

When you first received that plaque, did you feel anything?

"what?"

Oh, right, the plaque.

Uchiharado doesn't seem to have any other personal belongings. If it was transported by car, it might be in the car.

"nothing....."

"Really? Didn't you sense something, which is why you asked me all those questions?"

No, I just have doubts about jobs with strange content.

But... is that really the case? The person being replaced lacks confidence now.

Because he knew he had spoken that language.

"Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn..."

I whispered the language again.

Oh oh oh oh um um um um um

Fog whistle?

The sound, like a ringing in the ears from a distant ocean, brought the person being replaced back to reality.

What just happened was—!!!

Subaru's gaze suddenly sharpened. That sound... was it a monster?!

At the same time, the person being replaced turned toward the direction of Uchiharado on the side, but the man's figure was nowhere to be seen, as if no one had ever existed there in the first place.

Using the eyes of the person being replaced, Gen Subaru looked around the customer rooms and realized that this floor seemed to have never had anyone before.

Calm down.

The person being replaced walked towards the deck, thinking this. The moonless night on the outer sea was utterly dark... no... what was there!

Oh oh oh oh um um um um um

Amidst the eerie sounds, on the dark, horizon where the sea and sky meet, something... a long object protrudes from the sea.

Sea serpent.

From ancient times, fishermen and seafarers who crossed the seas have passed down legends about mythical beasts.

The person being replaced remembered this incident. But just how big was it? Considering the distance from here to that horizon, it wasn't just a few tens of meters.

Oh oh oh oh um um um um um

Is it crying?

Is no one else looking at this?

These kinds of things live right at the mouth of Tokyo Bay.

Oh, I see...

The person being replaced closed their eyes.

Like the sea dragon.

If you open your eyes, you won't be able to see its figure again in the next moment.

We couldn't hear its voice either.

Isn't that how it's always been? Whether it's the bus passengers or Tetsuo Uchiharado...

The person being replaced feels that as long as they can maintain their consciousness, they are simply indulging in pointless fantasies.

Sure enough, when I opened my eyes again, the sea dragon's silhouette was no longer there. I could no longer hear the roar that was thought to be a mist whistle; only the wind whistling and whistling tormenting my ears.

However, even when he closed his eyes again, the image of the sea spirit with its long, raised neck would appear in his mind. The person who was replaced also realized that the image had been imprinted on his optic nerve.

Yuan Mao's expression was also quite solemn, because he realized that he seemed to have been affected to some extent as well.

Was it really a trap?!

Subsequently, the person who was replaced returned to the Yokosuka Research Institute and spent two weeks diligently burying himself in the task of organizing data, and that effort almost always paid off.

There would be fleeting moments when the roar of the sea dragon and its figure would be heard, but the strange language was never uttered unconsciously again.

During the summer and holidays, students from universities in the city center would come to live with the research institute. However, during the cold season, there were only five full-time staff members, including those who were replaced, living a life where time passed differently from the rest of the world.

There are researchers who study bioluminescence, and others who specialize in tube worms, each with their own field. The person being replaced specializes in the habitat and distribution of deep-sea fish, but this is a very troublesome task in deep-sea surveys.

While deep-sea submersibles have increased diving speed, they are not vehicles capable of moving over a wide area.

They could only dive to a fixed point and observe continuously through windows with extremely poor visibility, gradually accumulating the data obtained in this way for various countries.

Nevertheless, the person being replaced still found the job appealing.

Despite their vast differences, deep-sea fish possess unique characteristics. And there remains the possibility of discovering new species that have never been seen before.

The person being replaced learned from news websites on the internet that oarfish had washed ashore on the Izu Peninsula.

Scholars from the surrounding area had probably already gone to the scene to investigate, but the person who had been replaced wanted to see it for himself, so he went to West Izu.

The oarfish is a deep-sea fish that can grow to over ten meters in length. It is said to have a beautiful appearance with a silvery-white body and pale pink fins covering its entire back, but it is not often observed swimming gracefully in the sea.

Oarfish washed ashore are reduced to bizarre, grotesque shapes. One theory suggests that the appearance of these fish carcasses on land is a harbinger of earthquakes. In Izu, where earthquakes are frequent, these fish appear in an unusually synchronized manner.

In the small fishing port of western Izu, a group of local television station staff and news reporters were gathered. They probably wanted to make a big news story out of the fish that foretelled an earthquake.

Staff at the Shizuoka Fisheries Experiment Station investigated the fish that had begun to rot.

The person being replaced revealed their identity and was granted permission to approach and watch.

This oarfish was a relatively small individual, measuring eight meters in total length, but even so, its length lying on the concrete was still impressive.

The face with empty eye sockets resembled someone else's face, the person being replaced thought.

That sea dragon I saw on the ferry that night... must be this one.

Deep-sea fish have no chance of surviving properly near the surface. Let alone swimming above the surface, but for some reason, the replaced species have begun to find it acceptable.

Although there was no basis for it, the person being replaced felt a sense of security. He wanted to see the dead fish in the deep sea, probably because it was unconsciously attracting him. The person being replaced thought to himself and went back to greet the staff of the aquatic experimental site.

He was carefully cutting open the abdominal tissue.

"Whoa!"

His boots were covered in filth.

Judging from its body length, this is a fish with very few internal organs, but unusually, undigested food was found piled up in its digestive organs.

"what is this?"

He pointed to something in the filth that was emitting a foul odor.

The person being replaced suddenly felt a sense of unease. In order to test their own heart, they approached the filth and wanted to see its true nature.

However, I can't get close...

Several dark spheres protrude from the whitish, gelatinous substance.

Was it a hallucination?

Those are eyeballs. Those are undoubtedly human eyeballs.