Chapter 679 - The Faceless Water Wings
—And now, after about five minutes of discussion and deliberation, let me introduce Clan Azure Sky's formation for the fight against 【Great Water Spirit Rapharn】.
Tetra in the rearguard. Sora-san in the all-guard. Everyone else in the vanguard.
And there you have it, a perfectly flawless plan with absolutely nothing to criticize.
Our only model, our only point of reference, was the Great Ice Spirit (Epel) that I knew. Sora and Ui-san's knowledge was also limited to the stories I'd told them.
We could only theorize that a similar appearance meant a similar fighting style, but in the end, we concluded that simple is best.
When it comes down to it, the individual specs of our party members are just too high.
Therefore, we reached the conclusion that it would be less of a waste for everyone to fight at full power, coordinating on the fly, rather than adopting a clever, restrictive strategy.
"—That's the gist of it. You ready, Kanata-kun?"
"I'm not quite sure I understand the 'gist of it,' but…"
The clan's two agility powerhouses stood side-by-side, ready to perform the opening charge, just like in the Four Pillar War.
While the [Sword Saint] has the edge in instantaneous speed, Kanata is superior when it comes to sustained high-speed maneuvers. So, a two-man evasion tank setup with me and Kanata seemed like the safest bet. I'm fully aware that the very concept of an 'evasion tank' is anything but safe. Don't even get me started on the fact that not a single person in our clan is a high-durability build—anyway,
As I called out to my junior, I glanced back over my shoulder. Our amber eyes met, blinked twice, and a cute face with a dignified, reliable expression gave a single nod.
Our Clan Master has given the go-ahead. In that case… let's go!
"Alright then—I'm going first!"
My junior, known in some circles as 'Acrobat No. 2' or 'Acrobat-in-Training,' can't just charge in a straight line when the enemy is a floating body in the water.
In that case, the first strike falls to me, the one with 'legs' that can traverse any terrain.
I activate `Desperate Crimson` and ignite all my mobility skills, starting with `[Rocket]`. Breaking through the slight resistance of the water, I take a single step across the vast space.
I race past the nine floating pillars, and soon, my vision is filled with a translucent giant, reflecting the water around it. I can feel a distinct 'gaze' on me, whether it originates from the serenely glowing 'core' or not.
"Now, I wonder if your weak point is the same too."
I unsheathe my jade blade—Kesshiki Itto, First Strike.
"`Hisui`."
A pseudo-`Shukuchi` is formed from the combination of `[Rocket]`, `[Ignition]`, and `Matoi`, and an output exceeding a player's limits bursts forth from the blade.
I don't know if it intended to evade, or if its style was to take the hit head-on, befitting its ponderous appearance… but the moment the green flash of my [Samidorizuki] cut through the water and carved a deep gash into its core without fail,
'—…' A deep, heavy, rumbling roar, as if the world itself was shaking, echoed through the chamber. I see. I knew that their personalities varied by type, but—at the very least,
Judging from the intense killing intent filling its voice, this doesn't seem to be a gentle type of whale.
◇◆◇◆◇
—And so, ten minutes after the battle began.
"—Sora!!"
"Yes…!"
I'm in, to be perfectly honest, a bit of a jam.
While tearing apart the endlessly spawning Aquia spirits with one hand, I call out to my partner and dash through the water. Simultaneously, I activate [Nine Tail], sending out a couple of 'shadow threads.' The moment Kanata and Ui-san grab onto them, I reel them in at full speed—
"`[Linked Great Towers]`!"
As I retreat behind my partner with the two of them in my arms, a tremendous pressure grinds against the 'shield' formed by the four giant swords Sora conjured.
The threat comes from none other than the Great Water Spirit Rapharn—a whale-sama that is still rampaging through the vast space, its HP bar having barely budged.
Periodically, it unleashes a water-attribute version of Epel's 'indiscriminate, wide-area, ultra-thick destruction beam with both homing and spread shots.' It goes without saying that a graze would be fatal and a direct hit would mean instant death—a fitting special move for a monster. But this is still the easy part, a sort of 'break time.'
What's really troubling us is…
"Seriously… what do we do about that? Nothing we do takes off more than a sliver of its health."
"No matter where I cut it, there's no real feedback… I wonder what we should do."
"It seems there's not much difference between physical and magical attacks in terms of effectiveness…"
This is almost certainly not what the designers intended, but this deadly zone, where devastating AOE attacks fly about, provides a dozen or so seconds of downtime once we've secured our safety.
Thus, we can hold these discussions, which are rather inappropriate for the middle of a battle. However, this is the third time we've done this, and all we've exchanged are question marks.
It's clear things aren't going well, so I can sense we've got the strategy fundamentally wrong… As I was racking my brain yet again, my eyes met Tetra's.
"Senpai. Can I give you a hint, or at least a suggestion?"
He must have seen our predicament and predicted that we were headed for a war of attrition. I glanced at the women on either side of me, and they both nodded in agreement.
Well, it's not like we're bound by some iron will to refuse information.
Rapharn's attack patterns were, as predicted, largely similar to Epel's. The current attack is one, as are the summoning of minions (Aquia), the barrage of water magic, and, to top it off, the overwhelming physical attacks using its massive body. This must be the standard for Great Spirits.
It's a tougher fight than the 'Ice' one due to the unique underwater environment and the terrible visibility of enemy water magic, but that's really the extent of it.
We're facing it for the first time in an unfamiliar environment, and we've handled most of its moves without taking any damage or using many resources. So, accepting some advice to speed things up is fine.
And so, following the other two, I nodded, and Tetra said, "Okay."
"Alright, simply put—Senpai, you're getting hung up on its appearance and forgetting something, aren't you? It's the same as the small fry (Aquia). I mean, they come from the same source."
"……………………I see… I see?"
Hmm… The same, from the same source… It's true that, just like with Epel, the swarming 【Leaping Water Spirit (Lipis Aquia)】 seem to be offshoots emerging from Rapharn's body, but…
"…—Ah, Haru. Could it be…"
"Time's up. Well, figure it out, you two."
Just as Tetra's words cut her off, Sora-san, who seemed to have realized something, was in the middle of saying 'Could it be' when our time ran out. Sensing new pressure approaching from beyond the shield of swords, our gathered group scattered in an instant.
In the next moment, the colossal body arrived.
Then, after a clash that lasted less than an instant, the great towers shattered, but elsewhere…
"—So, what were you saying?"
"Y-Yes. Um, well…"
As instructed, I snatched Sora up to think it over together and dashed through the water. Effortlessly outrunning the diligently pursuing water spirits, I posed the question to the girl in my arms.
Perhaps she was embarrassed about momentarily losing track of the situation, caught up in her moment of inspiration. Hiding her cheeks, which were faintly flushed even in the dim light, with her hand, she said,
"It's the water. If it's the same as the smaller spirits… then perhaps water magic is effective after all?"
However, I tilted my head at the 'inspiration' Sora-san voiced.
"But I've already tried using `[Water Enchant]`."
I beat the stuffing out of both its core and its body, but it had no effect at all—
"That's why I think the amount wasn't enough."
"The amount?"
"Yes. Um… as you can see, it's very large."
"…"
At her words, I looked up. I gazed at the 'whale,' still energetically chasing Kanata, even as Ui-san relentlessly slashed at its back, full of vim and vigor.
Aha… A-haaan, I see now, huh???
I see, I see. 'Hung up on its appearance,' he put it perfectly.
Because it looked so similar to Epel, with its obviously weak-looking exposed core, I just assumed that a direct assault would work…
But if its offshoots, the 【Leaping Water Spirit (Lipis Aquia)】, were like that, then it's not surprising—in fact, it's only natural—that the main body would share the same properties, isn't it?
And if I add a bit of meta-gaming logic to it,
"This is perfectly designed to give an advantage to someone with Water Magic Aptitude…"
"That's what I… thought, but…"
Haha, she's still as modest as ever in situations like this.
So, as her partner, I'll confidently and proudly declare it for her.
"Sora-san, you're right on the money."
I activate `[Trance]`. Taking control of my shrunken body, my white hair trailing behind me, I race towards a single point.
"Ah, you get it?"
"I get it—Sora, I need you and Tetra to provide cover!"
Leaving Sora with Tetra, who was floating leisurely surrounded by a huge number of now-motionless water spirits, I took a single step `(Rocket)` towards Rapharn, which Kanata was leading around.
The next moment, my vision vanished, replaced by a completely different scene—a sensation I was all too familiar with.
My boots landed squarely on the whale's back. Stomping down on its colossal body, like a living, moving continent, I summoned [Alv Stella] to my right hand and thrust it down like a harpoon.
At the same time, I placed my left hand on its watery skin. And then,
"Now, drink up—`[Flood]`!"
I loudly summon my own magical water.
It was a spur-of-the-moment action based on a hunch and a whim. If this didn't work, I was prepared to resign myself to jumping into its mouth… but as it turned out, it was just as I thought.
Normally, the coordinates for summoning the waterfall can only be set in a nearby 'space,' but the command passed straight through the whale's outer skin and into its interior. See, I knew it—
'—, —…—!'
Bullseye. As expected of my partner.
I left the swarming water spirits entirely to the magical swords and 'shadows' flying around me and unleashed a furious barrage of `[Flood]`. The volume of this tera-aqua is proportional to the caster's MID.
Including the double bonus from [Perdia Eternity] when we fight together, my Trance form's actual MID value is a whopping 1550. To be hit with a continuous barrage of water that could fill a massive pool and then some with a single cast—even a whale couldn't avoid getting its fill.
And so, the Great Spirit, clearly writhing in agony, was headed for—the bottom.
Rapharn crashed to the floor with a tremendous tremor, its body's transparency now somewhat clouded. It was clearly suffering from some ailment unlike its normal state.
And then,
"—Oh my…"
My master, who had been riding on its back with me, let out a voice of wonder as she delivered yet another slash, the feedback from which must have been completely different from before.
It's not your imagination, Master. You're amazing. That last hit took off a huge chunk of its HP.
And with that,
"Revised evaluation. The 'Ice' one (Epel) is stronger than this."
Less than a minute remained until the end. The fate of the Great Water Spirit had just been sealed.