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「読んで」「書いて」毎日が楽しくなる小説アプリをダウンロードしよう。
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On the deck of a small fishing boat that had arrived at the fishing grounds from Okinawa’s main island, the captain was bellowing at a young part-time worker.
“How long are you going to keep yawning? Get the nets in, and fast. This time of year, the pre-dawn hours are make-or-break for the catch.”
Gazing up at the dim, pre-dawn sky, the man reluctantly hoisted the net onto his shoulder.
“Yeah, yeah … Good grief. I let the high hourly wage lure me into some seriously back-breaking labor.”
The next instant, a violent jolt shuddered through the entire vessel. The man lost his footing and landed hard on his backside.
“Whoa! Boss — did we hit something?”
The captain rushed out of the wheelhouse, peered at the water’s surface, and shook his head.
“That shouldn’t be possible. There aren’t supposed to be any reefs or rocks around here.”
The part-timer stumbled to his feet and walked toward the opposite side of the deck to get a look at the water. He stopped just short of the gunwale.
Rising up before him — towering higher than he stood — were several strange, looming forms. Each one writhed and undulated.
He tried to call out to the captain, but terror choked the words in his throat, leaving only a series of high-pitched, gasping wheezes.
The captain turned, looked in the same direction as the young man, and shouted:
“W-what… what is this?”
The hull lurched violently again, this time tilting lengthwise. The part-timer was knocked off balance, tumbled across the deck, and was flung over the stern into the sea.
Underwater, he yanked the cord on his life jacket and struggled desperately to surface. As the inflating vest lifted his face above the waves, he saw more than a dozen massive, tentacle-like appendages wrapped tightly around the ship’s hull.
“Th-the ship … it’s being dragged under!”
He thought he heard the captain scream in the distance. The fishing boat was slowly being dragged underwater — bow-first — by tentacles, vanishing from sight.
Pale with terror, the man swam, trying to put as much distance as possible between himself and the vessel. By the time the first rays of sunlight broke over the horizon, the boat had completely disappeared.
At noon the following day, Assistant Inspector Miyashita of the Metropolitan Police Department’s Public Security Mobile Investigation Unit arrived by taxi at the 11th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters.
Although the sun in Naha was less intense than at the height of summer, the air remained humid and sticky.
Dressed in a dark gray pantsuit with the jacket buttoned up, she stated her business at the reception desk; a Coast Guard officer in a short-sleeved uniform immediately came out to greet her.
He introduced himself as Ishigami and, as he led Miyashita toward the inner offices, remarked:
“We really appreciate this. We don’t have any detectives specializing in kaiju incidents here, you see — so having an expert from the Metropolitan Police Department come down is a huge help.”
Miyashita replied hesitantly:
“Well, actually … I’m in the counter-terrorism division; I’m not exactly a kaiju specialist…”
Ishigami, seemingly not hearing a word of it, continued cheerfully:
“Oh, come now, you’re being too modest. I’ve heard all about your track record. It’s incredibly reassuring to have a kaiju expert here from Tokyo.”
“Um, as I said, I’m not really a kaiju specialist…”
“Anyway, regarding this case — which appears to be a kaiju incident — there are quite a few points I’d like to get your opinion on right away.”
Miyashita gave up on trying to correct his misunderstanding.
Miyashita was shown into a conference room, where she gathered around a table with several Japan Coast Guard officers. Ishigami hung a nautical chart on the whiteboard and began his explanation.
“Yesterday’s incident marks the third case so far. Small fishing boats have been vanishing one after another in the span of just ten days — and in deep waters where running aground would be impossible.”
Miyashita studied the locations marked in red on the chart and asked,
“Were there any survivors?”
Ishigami replied,
“Regarding yesterday’s incident, a young man working part-time on the boat was rescued after twelve hours. We questioned him, but the story he told was hard to believe.”
“In what way?”
“He claimed the boat was attacked by a monster with massive tentacles — that the vessel was dragged right under the water. And it’s not something we can simply dismiss as a hallucination. We’ve received five separate reports from pilots and passengers on small inter-island planes who witnessed something huge moving through the water below.”
“Could it be a submersible or something similar?”
“It’s possible. We suspected a foreign operative might be attempting an infiltration, so we asked the Metropolitan Police Department for assistance — which is how you, a kaiju specialist, came to be assigned here, Ms. Miyashita.”
“Well, actually, I’m not exactly a kaiju specialist …”
“In any case, there is a high probability that something highly unusual is happening in the waters nearby. We would appreciate your cooperation.”
“I see. Understood.”
“For now, please get some rest at the hotel we’ve arranged for you; it’s right by the beach. Say, you there — drive Ms. Miyashita to the hotel.”
Miyashita prepared to leave with the officer who had stood up. Just then, another officer burst through the door, looking frantic.
“Another ship has sunk under mysterious circumstances — just a few hours ago!”
Ishigami stood up and asked, “Which fishing boat is it?”
“It’s not a fishing boat this time. It’s one of ours.”
“One of ours?”
“It’s a patrol boat directly under Headquarters!”
That evening, Prof. Watari and Assistant Professor Toyama of Teito University of Science were sitting on the beach beside their hotel, dressed in swimsuits and aloha shirts.
Three female students in swimsuits walked past them toward the water’s edge.
Watari frowned and spoke to Toyama.
“Can’t something be done about their attire? It’s practically underwear; I don’t know where to look.”
Toyama replied with a wry smile.
“You’re old-fashioned, Prof. Watari. That sort of thing is standard for swimsuits these days.”
Miyashita, having stepped out of a car at the hotel entrance, spotted the two men and approached them.
“Isn’t that Prof. Watari? Oh, and Dr. Toyama, too.”
Watari turned around in surprise.
“Ms. Miyashita? What are you doing here?”
“I’m here on business. Are you two traveling?”
“There’s a student research presentation being held here. They’re Toyama’s students — look, over there.”
“Why did you come along, Prof. Watari?”
“I’m the chaperone to the chaperone. You see…”
Watari said this while glancing at Toyama.
“I couldn’t very well leave a frivolous man alone with female students.”
Toyama pouted and protested.
“That’s a terrible thing to say. By the way, Ms. Miyashita — is there an incident or something?”
Miyashita explained only that fishing boats had been sinking one after another. Watari’s expression turned serious as he spoke to Toyama.
“In that case, isn’t it dangerous to be near the water?”
Toyama’s expression also grew serious.
“You’re right. Let’s get them back to the hotel.”
Just then, the students down by the water shouted to Watari and Toyama.
“Professor! Something strange has washed ashore.”
When they approached with Miyashita, they found a large silver case half-buried in the sand. It didn’t appear to be locked; when Watari opened it, he found a submachine gun inside.
“What is this?”
Miyashita instantly looked at the surface of the case. It bore the marking “Japan Coast Guard, 11th Regional Headquarters.”
The other female student looked out at the sea and cried out.
“Huh? Something’s floating out there. Is that a beach mat?”
A massive, disc-shaped object, standing upright, was moving slowly toward the beach. She approached the object — which stood as tall as a person — only to scream and fall backward in terror.
“Help! Something’s got my leg!”
Watari and Toyama rushed over frantically and grabbed her hands. A brown tentacle, as thick as a human arm, was wrapped tightly around her leg.
The two men tried to pull her toward the shore. The disc-like object fully emerged onto the sand.
It resembled a gigantic, spiral-shaped seashell. More than a dozen thick tentacles extended from its widest opening, and a huge eye stared out from the base.
Clutching the female student’s leg, the monster began to back away toward the sea. Watari and Toyama strained with all their might to pull her back, but all three were dragged toward the water.
Miyashita unbuttoned her jacket and drew her pistol from its holster. She stepped in between the student and the shell, then pulled the trigger.
However, the bullets ricocheted off the shell, and even shots fired directly into the tentacles seemed to cause little damage. Screaming and weeping, the student was slowly dragged closer to the ocean.
“Stand back!”
A loud voice rang out as a large man — dressed in an aloha shirt, short pants, and sandals — approached. He was wielding the submachine gun that had been in the case earlier.
With practiced ease, he inserted a loaded magazine, aimed the muzzle at the monster, and opened fire without hesitation.
Large-caliber bullets pierced the shell, causing blue fluid to spurt out. The tentacles went limp, releasing the student’s leg. Watari and Toyama grabbed her from both sides and ran away from the water’s edge.
The large man continued firing at the base of the tentacles until, finally, the monster toppled onto its side and stopped moving.
Miyashita approached the man who had lowered his submachine gun.
“Who are you? To handle a submachine gun with such skill…”
A man with a buzz cut — standing a full two heads taller than Miyashita — placed his gun on the sand and snapped into a salute.
“Forgive the late introduction. I am Kentaro Matsuda, a Second Lieutenant in the JGSDF Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade!”
“A Self-Defense Force officer?”
Toyama had taken the female students back to the hotel, and Watari had come over to join the pair.
“So, you’re with the Self-Defense Force. Were you keeping an eye on this situation, too?”
Matsuda lowered his hand and replied.
“No, it was purely a coincidence. I’m currently on leave and just happened to be here for sightseeing. By the way, what shall we do about that?”
Matsuda pointed to the creature with the massive shell. It was no longer moving; it appeared to be dead. Miyashita thought for a moment before answering.
“Let’s transport it to the local university and have Dr. Toyama examine it. Mr. Matsuda, was it? Would you mind helping us move it?”
The following evening, after the students had been sent back to Tokyo, Watari sat in the hotel lounge with Miyashita and Matsuda, drinking iced coffee while waiting for Toyama.
Eventually, Toyama returned to the hotel. He had just finished dissecting the mysterious creature at a local university facility recommended by the Japan Coast Guard.
Sitting down with them, Toyama spoke with a serious expression.
“It appears to be a type of ammonite. The shell is 1.8 meters in diameter, and the tentacles are 1.5 meters long. They’re like a hybrid between an octopus’s and a squid’s tentacles.”
Watari’s eyes widened in surprise as he asked:
“Didn’t ammonites go extinct along with dinosaurs?”
“Some must have survived. After all, there was the discovery of the coelacanth — an ancient fish long believed to be extinct. More importantly, examining its digestive system revealed something astonishing: that huge creature has eaten plastic. And it seems capable of digesting and absorbing it, too.”
Miyashita spoke up in surprise.
“Eat plastic? Is that something that can be eaten?”
Toyama replied, “Plastic is an organic substance. Most animals can’t digest it, but that thing must have developed the ability to do so.”
“But the size doesn’t match the testimony from the recent accident’s survivor. They said it stood over 170 centimeters tall on the ship’s deck, so its tentacles would have to be at least three meters long.”
“It’s likely a different individual.”
Matsuda let out a surprised sound.
“You mean there isn’t just one?”
“Actually, it would be unnatural if there were only one. It makes more sense to assume there are multiple, larger individuals.”
Watari stroked his beard as he spoke.
“But where would it find plastic to eat?”
Toyama replied.
“It might be marine plastic waste. They say over 100 million tons have washed into the ocean. In fact, it might have grown to such a massive size precisely because it started feeding on plastic waste.”
Miyashita asked another question.
“But why did it suddenly appear in these waters?”
“This is just a guess, but…”
Toyama took a tablet out of his bag and showed them several underwater photos.
“We’ve seen massive coral die-offs over the last few years, haven’t we?”
Watari peered at the images.
“I saw on the news that it might be due to global warming or marine pollution.”
Toyama spread out a nautical chart and marked the coastline with a blue pen.
“I cross-referenced the location of the accident you told me about, Ms. Miyashita, with the sites of the massive coral die-offs. For instance, here and here.”
The other three gasped as they looked at the pairs of red and blue marks Toyama was pointing to.
Toyama continued. “The sites of the ship accidents coincide with the area where massive coral die-offs are occurring. Corals are living organisms, too. What if they produce some kind of chemical substance that inhibits the breeding and growth of those ammonites?”
Watari taps his left palm with his right fist.
“So, the loss of coral caused the ammonites to grow abnormally, and feeding on plastic waste made them even more massive. That explains it,”
Miyashita said to Watari and Toyama.
“I need to ask for your cooperation again. There’s a risk that an even larger one could come ashore and start attacking people.”
Matsuda said, “I’ll help too. I reported the situation to my unit and received orders to remain on-site and gather intelligence as part of the Self-Defense Forces.”
That night, Matsuda knocked repeatedly on the door of Miyashita’s room. Miyashita hurriedly threw on a robe and opened the door to find Matsuda in his SDF dress uniform, speaking in an excited tone.
“It’s an emergency. A cruise ship docked at Naha Port is being attacked by a giant ammonite.”
“So there was another, even larger specimen after all!”
“An SDF helicopter is on its way here. I’ll go notify Prof. Watari and Dr. Toyama; could you please come along as well?”
“Understood. Let’s meet in the hotel lobby.”
Ten minutes later, Watari, Toyama, Miyashita, and Matsuda boarded a personnel transport helicopter that had landed in the hotel’s front courtyard.
The helicopter headed toward the airspace above Naha Port, where Toyama observed the scene through binoculars equipped with infrared night vision.
Dozens of massive tentacles, extending from the sea surface, were swarming over a large cruise ship — 240 meters in length — anchored away from the pier.
Illuminated by the ship’s own lights and the searchlights of nearby Japan Coast Guard patrol vessels, the deck was visible, showing numerous passengers screaming and fleeing in panic.
Tentacles wrapped around the bow, midsection, and stern of the cruise ship extended further upward, and the creature’s shell began to emerge from the water.
Toyama, peering through the binoculars, muttered to himself.
“There are three of them. Assuming a shell diameter of twenty meters and ten-meter tentacles, their total length is at least thirty meters.”
The tentacles extended and spread in all directions, with some already ensnaring the passengers.
The patrol boats held its fire, fearing it might accidentally strike the passengers. Before long, the giant ammonites — dragging deck fixtures like plastic chairs and the bodies of dozens of passengers in their grasp — sank one by one into the dark waters.
“The very scenario we dreaded most has come to pass.”
Miyashita muttered, looking frustrated. Toyama asked Matsuda, his expression sharp and completely different from his usual demeanor:
“Can you procure the high-performance underwater acoustic detector used by the Maritime Self-Defense Force?”
Matsuda answered immediately:
“I will submit a request to the Joint Staff Office right away!”
Two days later, in the pre-dawn hours, the four of them stood on the deck of a large Japan Coast Guard patrol vessel. A small motorized inflatable boat bobbed on the water nearby, and Matsuda, clad in a wetsuit, climbed aboard it.
A cable extended from a device the size of an attaché case to an acoustic detector designed to be submerged in the water.
Large floodlights mounted on the patrol vessel’s superstructure blazed to life in unison, and Matsuda lowered the detector into the water.
Watari, watching the scene with his hands resting on the deck railing, asked Toyama:
“Are you certain they’ll be drawn in by the light?”
Toyama replied, crossing his arms:
“There’s no absolute proof, but it’s a common technique used by squid fishing boats. Besides, the fishing boats attacked so far were all operating before dawn, and that cruise ship was brightly illuminated, too. I think there’s a strong possibility.”
Before long, Matsuda — staring at the scan results displayed on the device’s screen — called out to the three people on the ship:
“I’m getting a promising reading. One, two, three … It looks like three of them are approaching.”
The signatures of the massive objects gradually drawing closer were also picked up by the patrol vessel’s underwater radar. Upon hearing this from a crew member, Miyashita shouted to Matsuda:
“Mr. Matsuda, get back up here — fast! They’re almost right below us.”
Matsuda had a rope from the patrol vessel wrapped around his body, yet he refused to budge, keeping the acoustic detector’s sensor submerged in the water.
“Just a little longer … almost there. If I can only record the acoustic patterns they emit…”
The beam of a light revealed a massive shadow beneath the inflatable boat Matsuda was riding. Seeing it, Toyama shouted out.
“Matsuda! Don’t push yourself! It’s too dangerous!”
Even so, Matsuda kept the sensor tip in the water, his eyes fixed on the device’s screen.
“I’ve got data on two of them. Just a bit more.”
Brown tentacles, each as thick as a human torso, rose up around the boat like pillars, one after another.
The red bar on the device’s screen hit “100%.” Matsuda yanked out the cable, clutched the unit to his chest, and leaped from the boat into the sea.
A winch on the patrol vessel hauled in the rope wrapped around him, pulling his body beneath the ship’s hull. Clamping the device under his left arm, Matsuda scrambled up the side of the hull.
The patrol vessel started its engines and sped away from the scene. Soon, a helicopter appeared overhead and landed on the vessel’s helipad.
Matsuda, Miyashita, Watari, and Toyama boarded the helicopter, and it immediately took off. After about ten minutes of flight, a large destroyer-class ship came into view.
Miyashita, looking at it through the window, asked Matsuda:
“Is that an SDF ship?”
Matsuda nodded.
“Yes. We have the cooperation of the Maritime Self-Defense Force.”
After disembarking from the helicopter, they were escorted to the bridge. The captain spoke to Matsuda:
“Did you get the acoustic data?”
“Yes, sir! Right here.”
Matsuda handed the device to a crew member wearing a large headset. The sonar operator shouted:
“Sonar contact! Three targets. Acoustic pattern match confirmed. Transferring data to the fire-control system.”
The captain barked out orders:
“Open VLS hatches. Prepare anti-submarine missiles — tubes one through three.”
The weapons officer reported:
“Ready to fire.”
“Launch missiles!”
Orange flames erupted from the deck, and three missiles shot vertically into the sky. Upon reaching a certain altitude, they banked sharply and leveled off for horizontal flight.
Near the sea surface, the missile nose cones detached and plunged into the water, transforming into acoustic-homing torpedoes that raced toward the three giant ammonites.
Massive columns of water geysered up from three points on the surface, scattering blue fluid — proof that all three torpedoes had found their marks.
Dawn broke as the destroyer made its way back to Naha Port, and the dazzling morning sun illuminated the deck. Miyashita stepped up beside Watari, who stood gazing out at the sea.
“Is something still worrying you, Professor?”
Watari shook his head and gave a faint smile.
“No, it’s not that. I was just wondering if the Earth’s ecosystem is starting to go haywire — due to global warming, marine pollution, and a host of other factors.”
“True. Something similar could happen somewhere else, I suppose.”
“We might well be living in the era right before an extinction.”
“Huh?”
Miyashita tilted his head in confusion.
“What are you talking about, Professor? Giant ammonites didn’t go extinct. They might still be living somewhere in the world.”
“It’s not them that are going to go extinct.”
Watari turned to face Miyashita. He was smiling, but his eyes held no mirth.
“It’s us — human beings will.”
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やばすぎた！！😭💕 漁船襲撃から始まって、ワタリ教授たちがビーチでのんびりしてるかと思ったらまさかのアンモナイト襲来！陸自の松田さんバズーカ持って颯爽と登場…俺かっこよすぎだろ案件すぎる🤯💥 最後の「絶滅するのは人間の方だ」ってワタリ教授のセリフ、エモすぎて鳥肌立ったよ…！！地球規模のテーマなのに9話でここまで畳みかける構成、マジで神回すぎる……続き早く読みたいよ〜！🦑🌊💫
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