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Even after the Sun had set, the ocean stayed warm thanks to the sunlight it absorbed during the day. In this world, the ocean extends to the horizon in every direction. The Moon rose from the east as an orb of white light, tinting the water's surface a pale blue. Unlike the scorching rays from the Sun, the moonlight was quiet and gentle. As waves on the water's surface broke, they scattered droplets of water that shone like stars in the night sky. From this aquatic nebula appeared a girl clad in a pitch-black wetsuit.

The girl slowly brought her hand up to her neck and, like a butterfly emerging from a cocoon, took off the upper half of her wetsuit. This revealed the swimsuit she wore underneath and her skin, which lacked fins or scales. Humans have it rough. They have to rely on so many different pieces of equipment just to swim beneath the waves. The girl lowered her goggles, letting them hang around her neck. Her elegant blue eyes shone like the moonlit water and pierced me with their sharp gaze.

The confident girl's lips parted. "Good size." At least, I think that's what she said. The slight grin and kind glint in her eye gave me the impression that she was happy to have found me. But what was she happy about? I jumped out of the water and then descended as if in slow motion. Just as I was about to hit the water's surface, the girl slowly looked down at me.

The silence was deafening. Time had stopped. It should have taken mere moments for me to breach the surface and then come crashing back down, but it felt impossibly long. Stuck in the air just above the surface, I literally couldn't breathe. The girl was still staring at me. It was then that I noticed nothing else was moving, either―not even the waves. It was as if everything had been frozen... everything except for her eyes. They continued to shine in the moonlight. "Lots of meat."

Memories I had long forgotten came flooding back. I recognized the look she was giving me. It was the look of a predator spying its prey. The moment I realized this, time resumed. I fell into the water. Then I swam. I swam away as fast as I could. When was the last time I swam away from anything? I had grown so big that nothing here could hunt me. "And it's got spirit." I couldn't understand what happened next. I swam down toward the ocean floor, so why was my head above the surface again? It didn't make any sense. Then I noticed the harpoon poking through me. "That's dinner sorted." I was wrong. A hunter does lurk in these waters.