Chapter 359
Chapter 359. Aquatic Beast of Great Magic
“What the heck is that?!”
Barbara, who shared the mental landscape, exclaimed in a bewildered tone.
Well, she’s from the inland, so it’s no surprise she doesn’t know.
That’s probably a “Kraken”—a giant octopus monster. It’s carnivorous and primarily feeds on other aquatic magical beasts, but it can also sink ships or come ashore to attack villages.
I’m also from the inland, so it’s my first time seeing one directly!
“I thought it was a sea monster, but it seems they live in freshwater too…”
Leila, looking intrigued.
“According to my father’s memories, they’re not very tasty…”
Oh, really? You can eat those things? No, no, that’s not what I meant!!
I made a ring with my fingers and cast a long-distance visibility spell. I focused the dark magic power into both of my eyes to pierce through the darkness.
—My naked eyes confirmed it. The passenger ship was being violently shaken by tentacles that looked like entwined tree trunks.
The crew seemed desperate, pushing torches against it and attacking with swords, but honestly, it was hard to say they were doing any significant damage.
Then, a flash of light burst from the ship.
A silver beam struck one of the tentacles. The scorched tentacle jerked back and retreated into the water. But in its place, a new one sprouted up and coiled around the ship. This feels endless…
“That color of light… It’s a user of Holy Silver Magic,” Antendeixis murmured.
For a ship of that size, it wouldn’t be strange to have one or two healing priests on board. However, against such a gigantic magical beast, their odds are pretty bad…
“What should we do, Alex?”
… I want to help. That stubborn octopus is trying to wrap around the ship and drag the whole thing underwater.
It’s only a matter of time before the ship sinks. If the Holy Silver user runs out of magic, it’ll be over.
Leila, can you do it?
“It will definitely stand out, but I can at least drive it away…”
Leila’s words had a strong tone of confirmation.
… As a White Dragon, I don’t want to draw too much attention.
But who cares? The spies who will report this to the Demon Lord Kingdom? I’ll hunt down every last one of them. Besides, the rumors of Prince Zilbagias and his followers won’t become a big problem. There’s no way a prince would go out of his way to save a passenger ship!
More than anything, there’s no way I can just watch a ship that might have dozens, if not over a hundred passengers, sink…!
Leila, I’m counting on you. Get to it!
“I understand!!”
Taking a deep breath, Leila dove down. … The distant lights of the passenger ship drew nearer.
“—GAAAAAAAHHH!!”
With all her might, the dragon’s breath.
A dazzling pillar of light pierced the dark night, striking right next to the ship and scorching the tentacles.
And then, the immense figure of the magical beast surfaced from the depths—
“DDEKKAA!”
Barbara exclaimed again in shock. It’s huge! The body alone must be 30 meters long! Its eyes, about my height, swirled around, giving the impression that our gazes crossed.
The loudest scream from the ship could have come from the breath or the revealed monstrous form—
The water surface bubbled up from the breath. But below, the Kraken maintained its cool demeanor, retracting only the burned tentacle while still entwined with the passenger ship.
“—No good! It’s hiding directly under the ship. At this angle, it won’t hit!”
Leila circled as she lowered her altitude.
“I’ll aim from the side as much as possible.”
Suuuuu, she took another big breath.
“GOGAAAAA—!!”
A streak of light shot down to the water’s surface, steam exploding, and the lake was gouged out. Leila’s unending blasts dove beneath the ship—and captured the Kraken’s enormous eye.
“——!!”
It probably doesn’t have vocal organs, yet it felt like it was screaming.
A gigantic column of water erupted, shaking the ship heavily. All its tentacles retracted as the Kraken, surprisingly agile for its size, escaped to the sea floor. Leila’s breath chased after it, but she was blocked by a pitch-black ink like smoke.
…What a true monster that is.
“—The light diminished in the water, so it didn’t have much power…”
Leila looked frustrated. Did her pride as one of the strongest beings get hurt? If her breath had directly hit it out of the water, it would’ve been roasted by now.
If dragons are the rulers of the skies, the Kraken must be the emperor of the waters. Even the Demon Lord might find it difficult to take on… since I can only use dark and fire attributes. Aiogias, who excels in ice magic, and Diagias, dubbed the lightning color king, might manage to fend it off. But whether they could actually finish it off, or kill it before it kills them, is anyone’s guess.
Honestly, I’m finding it tough to face that thing. I can ward off its tentacles and teeth with protective spells, but if I’m pulled underwater… it’d be the end of me. With a monster that big, it likely has decent magic resistance too, and it doesn’t seem easy to instantly kill it even with all my might in Holy Silver Magic.
“Teleportation Spell” would likely have little effect due to the difference in physical structure, and “Forbidden”… what should I consider forbidden? Swimming? No, either way, if I get grabbed and dragged underwater, it doesn’t change that I’d be in deep trouble…
That being said, the passenger ship that narrowly escaped found itself tossing around in the big waves left by the Kraken. They still seemed oblivious to the fact they’d just evaded death.
Well, this works out.
“I’m withdrawing!”
Leila, who had slightly worn out from continuously blasting her breath, still flapped strongly. Prioritizing distance over altitude, she flew straight and low above the surface.
Thank you very much, Leila. Thanks to you, innocent people were saved.
“Hey, what if that thing was actually lake pirates?”
Stop! Don’t say something like that!
“Lake pirates? That’s impossible; there were heroes and priests on board,” Barbara pointed out, to which Antendeixis responded, “Boring!”
While I sighed in exasperation and turned to look back at the now-distant passenger ship, it seemed that the rocking had finally settled. I felt a little guilty for not being able to do anything while relying entirely on Leila, but I’m also relieved they were saved.
With a sigh of relief, I cast a concealment spell on us before turning forward.
Leila, if there’s a nearby island, let’s land and take a short break.
“I can still fly!”
No, you don’t have to push yourself that hard.
Thanks to “Kizuna,” it was obvious Leila was overstraining herself.
I don’t doubt her determination. But right now, there’s no need to be reckless—there’s no urgent need to rush to the next destination.
Any rumors flying around won’t compare to your wings. It’s probably quicker for news of Gordon falling to spread than for Adamas to rip the hearts out of those Night Elves…
“I understand…”
With a resigned look, Leila spread her wings and began to glide just above the water’s surface.
The calm lake still reflected the starry sky. Like a mirror—beyond it, the depths remained invisible—
Suddenly, I thought, what if a tentacle suddenly sprouted from there and wrapped around us?
“We all share thoughts through Kizuna…”
“I’ll fly a bit higher.”
No, I’m sorry…
“After seeing something like that, right?”
“I also wouldn’t want to be a snack for that thing…”
I had been thinking, maybe I could swim since it’s hot, but in water that’s deep enough to not touch the bottom, that’s a bit scary.
†††
“W-Were we saved…?”
Meanwhile, the passenger ship NeedAlun, which had escaped the Kraken’s grip.
“Is everyone okay?!”
The hero, having stuck the Holy Sword into the deck, shouted, somehow managing to endure the wild rocking.
The ship was in an uproar—after several hours battling the Kraken, the exhausted passengers fell into a state of panic once again as if the end of the world had come due to the rocking.
The hero launched a ball of light into the air and ran across the deck, looking down at the lake’s surface from both sides of the ship.
The Kraken’s presence was—gone! Fortunately, it seemed no one had been thrown overboard… unless they were taken by a tentacle.
“That octopus bastard ran off!”
The hero infused his voice with magic, shouting so both the crew holding swords and torches and the passengers could hear. The crew cheered, realizing the danger had passed, and the passengers began to find their calm again.
After some celebration, the crew dropped their swords and slumped down, collectively looking as if their souls had been drained—
“Lord Arthur!”
And here came the captain, equally exhausted, staggering over.
“W-Was the Kraken truly…?!”
“Well, captain. We managed to survive somehow.”
The hero smiled as he sheathed his Holy Sword. Amid the exhausted crew, he was oddly energetic. His waved blonde hair concealed his left eye, and his straight nose gave him a mysteriously charming appearance.
His name was Arthur.
“That octopus bastard is nowhere to be seen.”
“Oh, gods of light! I thank you…!”
The captain knelt down and unintentionally prayed toward the heavens. Arthur echoed, “Indeed,” but his action felt somewhat forced.
“But what was that light that descended from the sky…? Was it a messenger of the gods? Or perhaps Lord Arthur’s miracle?”
“Don’t be ridiculous, I couldn’t possibly do something like that. To my eyes, it looked like the breath of a White Dragon.”
“A White Dragon? … Did it come to our rescue?”
“Looking at the outcome, it’s quite clear. Maybe it really was a messenger from the gods.”
“Oh! Gods!! I thank you!!”
The captain began to pray more fervently, making Arthur smile wryly.
(But—)
While brushing his hair aside, he gazed into the dark depths of the lake.
(That White Dragon…)
His right eye was green, but his left, hidden beneath his hair—was glowing with silver light.
(It had someone riding on its back…)
He focused on the horizon.
However, beyond that line, there was nothing to be seen.
