The facts quickly proved that the cleansing transformation brought by the birth of that world was anything but ordinary.
Even while carrying Escoffier, even in the cramped darkness of the ship's interior, Flynn moved at a speed far beyond anything he had ever managed before, and he did it with complete stability.
Which meant he still had plenty of room left to push further.
Unfortunately, before he could really test those limits, he had already caught sight of the light above the end of the corridor.
That was the door leading to the deck.
In another blink, he and Escoffier burst through it together and emerged beneath the clear night sky, where they were greeted by open air and...
"Move, move! Hurry!"
The captain's anxious roar rang out across the deck as he urged his men to crank the ballista into place.
Following the line of the weapon, Flynn also saw the enormous sea beast it was aimed at.
"Well now, that really is something."
Taking advantage of the fact that everyone's attention was fixed on fighting the creature, Flynn quietly led Escoffier toward a relatively rearward position and, just as quietly, settled in to watch the show.
"It's probably about the same size as the 'Haishan' Beidou cut down. Hard to imagine what that strike must have looked like..."
He set Escoffier back down and spoke in a low voice, sounding sincerely impressed.
It was not that he was making a fuss over nothing. Even setting aside everything he had seen in the game before transmigrating, in this past year and more, while carrying his permanent bad-luck debuff, he had already seen more than enough strange things.
Especially in Natlan.
The monsters that emerged at random from Abyssal Gates opening all over the place were far from limited to the few types shown in the game. Their variety was broader, and their actual strength was nowhere near as pathetic as it looked on-screen.
But Flynn's mood was different now.
Since arriving in this world, not for a single moment had he felt as light and at ease as he did now.
"Captain Beidou of the Crux Fleet?"
"When I was traveling in search of culinary arts, I heard stories of how she slew the great beast Haishan. From the way it was described, that creature should have been quite a bit larger than this sea monster."
Escoffier was in a good mood as well. Hearing his remark, she naturally joined in the discussion.
"Oh? Then isn't that perfect? Maybe our dear captain here will recreate a feat on the same level. He might become famous."
Flynn suddenly adopted a serious tone, as if he were offering the most sincere blessing in the world.
Escoffier heard the sarcasm immediately.
She could not help letting out a soft laugh and lightly smacked his shoulder.
"Behave."
So Flynn laughed too.
Could this captain possibly compare to Beidou?
Could this ship compare to the Alcor?
There was no comparison at all. The whole thought was absurd.
Still...
"Flynn, is this ship going to sink?"
Escoffier recalled everything that had happened just moments ago.
Of course she had noticed the changes in him, and without question, those were good changes.
But precisely because they were good, she knew Flynn well enough to feel that something was wrong. If everything were truly fine, he would never have rushed her out the moment he woke up. That kind of urgency suggested there was still a major problem waiting behind it all.
And what other major problem could there be right now?
After only a little thought, Escoffier's attention settled on the ship beneath their feet.
Especially considering that right before leaving, Flynn had casually thrown down a bomb without the slightest hesitation.
That had not been an ordinary explosive. It was a specially processed solid Phlogiston charge, a Natlan-made product. Once detonated, the bare minimum result would be a massive hole blasted into the hull, one far too large to seal.
If conditions were right, that thing could split the ship in two.
And they were still out at sea.
As a Fontainian, Escoffier knew a little about handling ships. Even if they killed every last crew member aboard, she was confident that with Flynn helping her, they could still steer the vessel wherever they wanted to go.
Yet Flynn clearly had not given even a little thought to continuing the journey aboard this ship. His attitude was too indifferent, too careless, too utterly unconcerned.
Escoffier did not believe he was the sort to make himself suffer for no reason.
Which left only one possibility.
He was certain this ship was doomed.
"That's right."
As expected, Flynn gave her a direct answer, and added more.
"And don't bother counting on the two lifeboats either. They've got problems too."
He recalled what he had sensed the instant he woke and extended his perception, and a trace of helplessness passed through his eyes.
On the surface, the situation still looked manageable. The captain and his men were fighting hard, and with the help of the ballistae and the ship's other escort equipment, they had managed to stabilize things, though only barely.
But in truth, every time the sea beast struck the ship, it sent a tremor through the vessel.
And what only Flynn could detect was that those tremors just happened, every single time, to hit certain parts of the ship in exactly the wrong way. Not too strong, not too weak. Not too frequent, not too sparse.
Always enough to inflict damage on a few key structural points.
Each individual bit of damage looked trivial on its own. But chained together, they created a qualitative change. By the time Flynn woke up, the keel had already suffered irreversible damage. Even if the sea beast stopped attacking right then and there, within an hour at most, the condition would continue to worsen on its own.
The two lifeboats were much the same.
They might not sink the instant they touched the water, but they were unlikely to fare much better.
After hearing his explanation, Escoffier was left dumbfounded.
"How could that possibly be such a coincidence? Don't tell me the ship already had old damage, and they somehow never noticed it in their inspections before setting sail?"
Flynn only spread his hands.
"It probably really is that coincidental."
But was it really only coincidence?
Yes.
Flynn answered inwardly.
But it was inevitable too.
What did that mean?
Do not forget where the sea beast had come from.
It had been drawn here by his "bad-luck" a manifestation of the universe's instinctive attempt to reject him.
Under normal circumstances, the World Seed's power would resist that rejection, and Flynn would then have room to maneuver, nudging events away from the worst possible outcome.
But this time, the World Seed had finally gathered enough nourishment and was wholly occupied with sprouting into existence. It had offered no resistance, no interference.
And so, the world's malice had been displayed in all its glory.
That was what created this long chain of "inevitable coincidences."
If one had to describe it, it was no different from death arriving by absurd certainty.
If left unchecked, the ship sinking would only be the beginning. All the nasty things lurking in the sea would probably count as no more than appetizers.
But that no longer mattered.
From this moment on, everything would be different.
The world had already been born. At first glance, that made it larger, more visible, more likely to invite an even stronger rejection. But the truth was closer to a person awakening from ignorance and gaining the ability to communicate.
"Escoffier, keep watch for me. I'm going to have a talk with someone."
Have a talk with someone?
Who?
There isn't anyone here.
Escoffier was left a little blank. Even if he meant to talk to those smugglers, shouldn't he either walk over to them or call them over? What exactly was he doing, leaning against the corner and closing his eyes?
Still, she held firmly to her trust in Flynn.
Without a word, she drew out her spear. The Cryo energy accumulated within her Vision stirred into motion once more, gathering and waiting, ready to strike at any moment.