Chapter 314 - The Ocean's True Threat Revealed
We had already taken out about half of the pirates, roughly twenty ships, each with twenty to thirty pirates. That meant we had sent about five hundred of their lives back to the sea.
It was a clear case of mass slaughter. Some might call it an atrocity, given that the victims were pirates. But their opinions mattered little to us. We felt no sympathy for the likes of pirates.
"—I repeat, the attack team, retreat to the main ship. The rest focus on defense and support."
Facing the remaining pirates, Mary issued a retreat order without hesitation. Normally, she wouldn’t tolerate such an incomplete job, but the unusual circumstances required it. Everyone would understand without needing a detailed explanation.
Siegrune and I, drenched, went to the bridge to discuss the approaching beasts with the captain.
"A group of beasts? Where are they? We haven’t detected them from here."
"To the northeast... about three kilometers away. They’re moving slowly, but there are roughly two hundred of them."
"Two hundred... Yet you sensed them from such a distance. Bosun, has anyone else noticed?"
The bridge was tense. The first time Siegrune sensed something, it was from a greater distance. The vice-commander’s alertness across a wide area was impressive.
"In this weather, sensing three kilometers away is impossible for me. Miss, do you have any more details? If you can describe their shape and size, we might be able to identify them."
We weren’t yet in combat with the beasts, but it was better to be cautious. I focused my perception and expanded my senses.
"Specifically... they’re not flat, more streamlined or torpedo-shaped, like migratory fish. Their sizes vary, but the largest are probably around ten meters. They have large fins—dorsal, tail, and pectoral."
"Ten-meter bodies with large fins... and about two hundred of them?"
"What other features? Like horns or scales?"
"No horns. The scales... more like a hard exoskeleton? Like an armored fish?"
Describing a beast I hadn’t seen before was challenging, but the captain and bosun seemed to recognize something.
Certainly, a large group of such beasts would be a threat, but in the vast ocean, it wasn’t unusual for them to move in groups.
"Do you have any idea? They seem to be riding the currents and approaching us. Why are they coming this way? Aren’t large beasts rare in these waters?"
"Currents?"
Siegrune, though calling it a layman’s guess, explained the beasts’ movements, and the old men’s faces turned pale.
"You don’t think... they’re the Messenger of the Water God?"
"Water God?"
Ignoring my question, the old men panicked.
"Large fins, armored bodies, a group, riding the currents... this sounds familiar."
"Hold on. If it’s the Messenger of the Water God, can they smell blood?"
"Can they detect it in this weather and rough seas?"
The bridge was in chaos, but it made little sense to us. The group of large beasts was indeed a threat, but their speed was slow, and it seemed we had enough time to escape if needed.
If push came to shove, we were prepared to fight. A battle against both pirates and beasts would be a rare and valuable training opportunity. I was almost looking forward to it.
"If we don’t act quickly, we won’t be able to move! Miss, clear a path through the pirate ships so we can escape!"
"If we get caught by the blood-thirsty Messenger of the Water God, our ships won’t last! Don’t underestimate them!"
"Even if it’s just the Messenger, the Water God’s appearance would be the end. No matter how skilled you are, it’s like a natural disaster. I never thought I’d encounter the Messenger of the Water God in my old age..."
Huh, some kind of legendary creature?
The atmosphere was intense. We needed to stay focused.
"Yukari-dono, let’s follow their advice."
"Agreed. Captain, we’ll clear a path through the pirate ships now."
"If possible, create a route to the west. If we can get away from the current and move closer to land, they might ignore us. Do your best; we don’t have much time!"
"Raise the anchor!"
The captain’s urgency was palpable, and we had to stay focused.
Back on the bridge roof, the team’s retreat was almost complete.
"Both of you, prepare to leave this area immediately."
Siegrune’s words confused Mary and Violante, who had likely expected to prepare for a beast battle.
The unfinished battle with the pirates was frustrating, and it was hard to justify fearing the beasts. The idea of missing a rare combat opportunity was regrettable.
But we needed to respect the bad feeling and the experienced sailors’ advice and retreat quickly. When we decided to act, we did so with all our strength.
"I’m not sure what’s happening, but from what I’ve heard, these beasts are more dangerous than we thought. We’re heading west to escape. Clear any pirate ships in our path."
"If we need to hurry, should we go all out?"
"Yes, full effort. I’ll help too. Yukari-dono and Violante, stay alert for the beasts."
I sensed the beasts’ group accelerating.
No, it was definite. They were speeding up.
"—I’ll leave it to you, but hurry. They’re getting faster."
"Understood. Mary, let’s go!"
"Yes! Yukari-san, can I have some sand?"
"As much as you need."
I prepared tungsten sand for them. I could continuously support them with it.
Siegrune and Mary, after a brief pause, began their magic.
"Exterior!"
Their voices overlapped, and a powerful, lightning-like surge of magic erupted.
The combat body transformation magic, an advanced form of physical enhancement, enveloped them in visible auras. They looked like shooting stars in the night sea.
Siegrune, glowing with pure white light, leaped up and poured vast amounts of magic into her longsword. She swung it down at a pirate ship.
Even with a masterfully crafted sword and terrifying magic, it should be impossible to cut a ship in half with a single strike. A sword longer than a person’s height wouldn’t be enough to cut through a ship’s deck.
"Extend, Magic Sword Eos Iris!"
The magical sword, named after a fierce goddess of swords, transformed into a blade of light and stretched to a length capable of bisecting a ship.
It wasn’t the sword itself that extended but the vast magic power that made it look like a sword. The cutting edge was as sharp as the sword itself. That’s what this magical artifact was designed for.
The blade of light cut through the ship and the sea, and as Siegrune raised her sword, it cut even more. She used the collapsing ship as a platform to leap to the next target.
"Ah... such a refreshing rain."
Mary, with a slightly unsettling smile, seemed to be intoxicated by the power of the combat body transformation magic. Her aura, a deep crimson, intensified.
Mary manipulated the rain to create a water snake about fifty centimeters in diameter. The snake, filled with tungsten sand, was launched like a missile.
The journey from launch to impact was brief.
The water jet, filled with tungsten sand, easily blew away the pirate ship’s debris.
The combination of slicing and blasting was effective. Either method alone could sink a ship, but together, they were even faster.
The surviving pirates were completely ignored. They were not considered as the ships were destroyed.
Ignoring the pirates was necessary to prevent any collateral damage to us. Of course.
"President! The beasts’ speed is increasing!"
I had noticed it too. The group of beasts heading our way was accelerating without limit. Despite the initial slow pace, their speed was now alarming. They were closing in rapidly, less than a kilometer away.
They couldn’t be trying to stop us, could they?
"At this rate, we won’t be able to escape in time."
The path was almost clear, but the sinking ships still needed time. Even with powerful magic, we couldn’t instantly reach our top speed.
The captain and crew were ready to go, but escaping unharmed was no longer possible.
"With those bodies and that speed, a collision would be devastating."
Mass and velocity translate directly into kinetic energy. Adding magical elements, and we didn’t know what abilities the beasts possessed. This could be troublesome.
Violante nodded, and I activated the communication line to issue orders.
"This is Shinogami. Everyone, focus! Everyone, focus!"
Once everyone’s attention was on me, I explained the situation.
"Prepare for a beast battle. Focus on obstructing the approaching group from the northeast. Prioritize interference over elimination to support our escape. Got it? Focus on obstructing their advance while prioritizing the ship’s defense."
Eliminating them if possible would be fine, but the beasts’ magical power was significant. In the water, and given their large size, they wouldn’t be easy to defeat.
I could probably handle them alone with reckless methods, but such extreme measures should be a last resort. The unknown elements were a significant threat.
The Second Combat Unit started with long-range magic attacks, but they weren’t effective due to the distance and the beasts being underwater. The members with water magic affinity seemed the most promising.
By the time Siegrune and Mary returned, the ship was gradually moving.
"The path is clear, but at this rate, we’ll likely engage the beasts."
"With their momentum, even defense might be difficult."
The incoming beasts with such massive bodies were on a different level from the pirates’ attacks.
Even with the combat body transformation magic still active, the rapidly approaching beasts were seen as a threat.
"The surrounding pirate ships are a hindrance, but it’s fortunate they aren’t immediately attacking us."
"Yes. If they target us while attacking the pirates, we might have a chance to escape. President, the members using water manipulation magic are struggling to hinder the beasts. What do you think?"
"It’s futile. The beasts seem to be using water manipulation themselves, a skill far more advanced than ours."
The beasts, despite being beasts, were surprisingly cunning. But being called Messengers of the Water God, they were probably capable of such feats.
A large group of powerful beasts was a major problem. Even with advanced skills, it was challenging to make an impact. Their combined force was overwhelming.
"If water manipulation doesn’t work, we don’t have many options left."
On land, it might be easier, but with the ocean as our battlefield, it was a significant disadvantage. Using a spike spell would require reaching the ocean floor, which wasn’t practical.
Even if I could reach the bottom and cast the spell, I’d be left behind. The ship was moving, after all.
Casting large-scale magic underwater in an unfamiliar environment would be extremely taxing and potentially dangerous.
Using a poison to affect the tough beasts was an option, but the environmental impact would be massive. Given the ocean currents, it was unlikely the effects would be contained to this area.
If we had to face this situation, we would need to do it regardless of the consequences.
"It’s a tough situation. Long-range attacks are only effective on the surface."
"Even my throwing skills would be pointless."
Taking out a few on the surface wouldn’t make a difference. A Nova Ore explosion wouldn’t affect the underwater beasts.
"Those beasts are getting clearer. We’ll make contact soon!"
The ship, moving slowly, was heading west when the beasts caught up. The dorsal fins of the beasts, like those of sharks, were clearly visible.
The initial contact was from below. The beasts, still moving at high speed, rammed the pirate ships, creating large holes in their hulls.
So far, so good. But what followed was shocking.
"They... they’re jumping?"
"No way. They’re like flying fish!"
The beasts, one after another, leaped out of the water and attacked the pirate ships. One even rammed a mast and devoured a pirate’s corpse lying on the deck.
They were like living torpedoes, some ramming the hulls and others landing on the decks to feed. It was chaos.
"This is unexpected. Yukari-dono, the deck is dangerous with them around."
"Yes, they’re too much."
"Violante, get inside the ship. Focus on magical support and protect the ship from underwater attacks."
"Understood, President."
"We can’t afford to lose the ship. Count on you."
If the Second Combat Unit focused on defense, they could protect the ship. The underwater defenses were in capable hands, leaving us to handle the surface.
Completely stopping the beasts’ aerial attacks was impossible. My shields were designed for the air, and their mass and momentum would likely break through. Still, defense was important, but proactive counterattacks were necessary.
As Mary ordered the team to retreat inside, I prepared for full combat.
The name 'Messenger of the Water God' had made me imagine something more mystical. But this was just brutal and ferocious.
Still, it was getting... fun!
I took a deep breath and imbued my words with magic.
"—True Shell Destruction... Red Lotus Valor (Exterior)!!"