169 - Trump Card
Lyell and Monica were firing arrows of light and cannon shells at the Tra-Sea, which had bitten off its own second head.
Amidst the falling rain, the shells exploded, and the Tra-Sea glared at them, bleeding from the spot where it had severed its head while emitting a faint light.
Monica, having run out of armor-piercing shells, switched to high-explosive shells. Then, she spoke a single sentence.
"High-explosive shells are ineffective, it seems."
She placed the cannon on the deck. Perhaps because it had grown hotter than before, steam rose from the cannon as rain and seawater hit it.
"They explode spectacularly, which is just my style... but I guess the effect is minimal."
As Lyell said this, the Tra-Sea, its body glowing faintly through the smoke, glared at them with red eyes and roared toward the heavens. It then dove into the sea with movements sharper than before, closing in on them.
Lyell spoke to Vera-san.
"Please set the speed to maximum. It seems it's getting serious."
The reply that came back was.
『Getting stronger by cutting off your own head... what kind of logic is that?! You want more speed, right? I'll give you more speed!』
Monica pulled a large hammer from the gap between her clothes and apron and took a stance.
"No wonder the development of firearms was delayed. Their means of defense are far too cowardly. What even is a 'barrier'?"
The Seventh Generation inside the orb agreed with Monica's complaints.
『Indeed. Power is greatly reduced, and no one admits it costs money... yet it is absolutely an excellent weapon.』
It was certainly excellent, but perhaps it wasn't yet at a level where it could be widely adopted.
Lyell readied his bow and fired an arrow toward the sea surface.
It pierced the surface, hitting the Tra-Sea directly and causing an explosion. However, its movements did not slow down as they had before.
"Three heads... was it harder to move with the same body? Its movements are better now."
While he was admiring this, Shannon, who was watching the Tra-Sea's movements, was being held in Mei's arms. She screamed at him.
"Why do you look so happy?! Defeat it before it gets even more serious!"
That opinion was reasonable. However, since he hadn't been able to finish it off, it couldn't be helped.
"I wanted to do that too, but I couldn't finish it anyway. Well, I don't mind taking my time, but maybe it's time to move to the next method."
Monica seemed to agree.
"According to my calculations, even the chicken coward's long-range attacks won't be enough to finish it off. As for me, I only have one high-explosive shell remaining."
At those words, Shannon's eyes welled up with tears.
"Y-you really think we can win?!"
Lyell brushed back his wet hair with his right hand.
"Don't be stupid. If we lose, we just die. What's the point of thinking about what happens after we lose? I live my life thinking only of winning."
Shannon, still held by Mei, struggled wildly.
"Once this is over, I'm definitely going to punch you!"
"Stop struggling so much. It's hard for me to hold you, you know?"
Lyell replied with a smile.
"That's the spirit! Once we've won, I'll give you as much attention as you want. Now then, relying only on a bow is a bit dull. Let's try this next."
Changing his bow into a halberd, Lyell swung the weapon on the deck and struck a pose.
Immediately after, Miranda, who was behind him, spoke.
『Sorry to interrupt your fun, but I think it's about to catch up to us. If we get caught like this, won't we be dragged to the bottom of the sea?』
Holding the halberd in his right hand, Lyell raised his left hand.
"No problem. With my current strength, I can handle something like the Tra-Sea. Everyone, hold on tight, the speed is about to increase... Up-Down!"
As he used the skill, the ship's speed suddenly surged, and the Tra-Sea's movements slowed. Even so, the Tra-Sea continued to approach the ship.
By severing two of its heads, its body movements had become unified, making it more troublesome.
Lyell touched his chin with his left hand.
"So the three-headed state was the easiest to defeat..."
Then, Clara's voice could be heard.
『...For now, I think I'll record this once it's over. Though it's questionable whether this monster will appear again in the future. Also, the results are in.』
Information reached Lyell from Clara, who was linked to him via his skill—Connection.
She had searched for materials regarding monsters in the ocean.
What kind of attacks they used, and what characteristics they possessed—.
This was to infer those traits from monsters similar to the Tra-Sea.
As a result, it seemed that many giant monsters frequently attempted to drag ships underwater.
"They often try to drag ships underwater, huh? In that case, the Tra-Sea will likely do the same. And as for its specialty—"
While he was pondering, a voice came from Novem, who was at the bow of the ship. He sounded slightly more panicked than usual.
"Lord Lyell, ice has appeared ahead. It's quite large."
Checking Novem's visual information, Vera-san, who shared information faster than Lyell, reacted.
"S-starboard! Everyone, grab onto something!"
The ship tilted sharply, avoiding the mountain of ice that had appeared. However, the course changed, allowing the Tra-Sea to catch up.
The Tra-Sea emerged from the sea surface as if to drape itself over the tilting ship, appearing to try and sink it by slamming its belly into them.
However—.
"Your timing was slightly off, Tra-Sea."
Lyell laughed, leaped up, and slashed the Tra-Sea's scaleless belly with his halberd.
As he swung the halberd, he felt resistance before it even touched the belly. He swung through, creating a wound several meters long, and blood sprayed from it.
He didn't get splashed with blood, but at the same time, he understood instinctively that this wouldn't be enough to finish it off.
When he landed, he was barely at the rear of the ship.
Miranda looked at him.
"Still doing dangerous things as always... I mean, it's so huge I don't feel like we can actually defeat it."
The ship slipped under the Tra-Sea, which had tried to drape over them, and Lyell watched as a massive pillar of water rose behind them.
Looking at the halberd, he confirmed it wasn't chipped, then looked at the sea surface where the Tra-Sea had sunk.
Miranda looked at him.
"You did cut it, right?"
Lyell shook his head.
"I thought the belly would work, but it was protected by magic. I managed to cut it, but... it was shallow."
Considering the Tra-Sea's massive size, the wound he had inflicted was tiny.
Lyell returned the halberd to the orb, hung it around his neck, used the skill—Box—and pulled a saber from the treasure chest that appeared.
"Wait, if the silver weapon didn't work, do you really think some mass-produced sabers will do the trick?"
Facing Miranda's doubting gaze, Lyell replied—.
"These are for different monsters. It looks like they've gathered."
Miranda must have noticed as well, as she looked around. A swarm of Sahagins had gathered around the ship. To be precise, the ship had plowed straight into a swarm of Sahagins.
Since that was the only path available, he couldn't blame Vera-san.
Vera-san gave orders.
"Arm the crew! Prevent them from entering at the entrances! You don't need to go out onto the deck!"
With six sabers at his waist and one in each hand for a total of eight, Lyell slashed a Sahagin that leaped from the sea surface horizontally with a saber.
Miranda also took out a knife and threw it at a leaping Sahagin.
"Despite biting off its own head, it seems it's still thinking clearly."
The Tra-Sea, which had blocked their path and forced them into the swarm of Sahagins, slowly emerged from the sea surface and opened its massive maw toward them.
It wasn't a mass of magic; instead, water from the sea surface began to gather and compress.
Lyell shouted.
"Novem!"
As he called Novem's name loudly, several walls of ice appeared in front of the Tra-Sea.
Then, the compressed water was released, easily piercing through the ice walls. However, Vera-san shouted.
"Port!"
The ship avoided the release of compressed water. As the Tra-Sea approached after destroying the ice walls, Lyell gave orders while cutting down the approaching Sahagins.
『Mei, how are things on your end?』
『It's fine. Monica is here too, after all.』
In the center of the deck, Mei and Monica were fighting the Sahagins to protect Shannon and Novem.
Sahagins continued to gather at the rear, and as doors were destroyed, they began to invade the interior of the ship.
Miranda produced threads from her fingertips, capturing the surrounding Sahagins and tearing them apart one after another.
"That seems quite convenient."
When he said that, Miranda replied.
"It is convenient. They're hard to cut, and I can tighten them, and depending on how I do it—"
The threads wrapped around the Sahagins. Then, the heads of the struggling Sahagins were cleanly severed.
The voice of the Fifth Generation could be heard from the orb.
『...She's like a spider.』
Lyell agreed.
"Miranda is like a spider."
Smiling, Miranda continued to deal with the surrounding Sahagins.
"Is that so? Do you want to try being caught in my threads too, Lyell?"
Since she said that, he replied.
"You'll tie me up tight so I can't get away, right? Well, since you're a spider... I guess it's fine. I'd welcome it! Feel free to bind me hand and foot with your threads!"
Miranda chuckled slightly.
"I see. Then I won't hold back... Also, everyone is listening to this conversation, you know?"
"Is that a problem?"
When he asked back with a straight face, Miranda said playfully.
"Once things go back to normal, I'll stop teasing you about this conversation. Whisper your love to me when you're in your right mind, Lyell."
"I'll tell you anytime!"
As he cut down the Sahagins gathering around him, the sabers he held began to get stained with blood and chip.
"Time for a swap."
Stabbing the sabers in both hands into the Sahagin in front of him, Lyell let go and kicked the enemy away.
Drawing sabers from his waist, he spun and slashed through the Sahagins that tried to pierce him with harpoons from both sides.
Aria's voice rang out.
『You there! Stop flirting while we're fighting! Sahagins are getting in here too... Get out of the way, you bastards!!』
It seemed Sahagins had entered Aria's area as well, and she was stabbing them to death one after another with her spear.
From Aria's visual information, he could see the surrounding crew members looking completely appalled. She was a bit tomboyish and cute, but...
"What, are you sulking? I love the rough side of you too, Aria."
As he said this with a laugh, Vera-san spoke.
"Be quiet for a second! Ah, I'm talking to the crew. Don't force a fight, just hold them back in front of the rooms! Later—no, right now, focus on dealing with the Tra-Sea! ...I mean, the Trident Sea Serpent!"
She seemed panicked, and her interactions with them and her orders at the bridge seemed to be mixing together.
"Tra-Sea is fine, isn't it?"
He thought it was a cute name, but apparently, Vera-san didn't like it. She was giving various orders at the bridge, utilizing the crew effectively.
From Eva—.
『...It's hot. And there are Sahagins at the door... I'm drenched in sweat, my clothes are...』
Clara said—.
『Things are fine here for now. We have guns ready. How convenient. I should have one for self-defense too...』
She seemed to have taken an interest in guns.
Then, Monica spoke—.
『Chicken coward. Sahagins have started clinging to the bridge. If they take over that area, we're finished.』
Furthermore, Novem added.
"The Tra-Sea is also seriously trying to sink us. What shall we do, Lord Lyell?"
The bridge was in a pinch, and the Tra-Sea was about to charge the ship.
"That's obvious. There's no problem as long as I deal with both!"
Lyell threw his saber at a Sahagin and drew his third and fourth sabers. Then, the cannon Monica had placed on the deck entered his field of vision.
—At the bridge, a battle had broken out with the Sahagins who had forced the door open.
"Kuh!"
Vera drew a handgun from the small of her back and fired toward the door leading outside.
The captain grabbed a gun kept on the bridge.
"My lady, please step back!"
Amidst the swaying ship, Vera was also fighting desperately on the bridge.
"What are you doing if you're not giving orders! Keep the ship steady while I hold them off!"
As Vera opened the cylinder of her revolver to change the ammunition, her attention shifted to the approaching Tra-Sea, and a bullet slipped out.
(Kuh! I'm almost out of ammo...)
She fired, and two Sahagins backed away from the door, but one remaining Sahagin approached. She fired one last shot, and although half its head was blown away, the Sahagin tried to push inside.
The captain was also struggling to change the ammunition in his gun. On a swaying ship, and with the Tra-Sea approaching.
Vera wasn't the only one panicking.
"You... get out of the way!"
Vera's black twin-tail hair swayed as she kicked the Sahagin with her boot. The Sahagin was blown back through the door with great force—.
"Oh no!"
By the time Vera realized, the ship had tilted sharply. Having launched a kick toward the door, Vera was thrown right out through the forced-open door...
The Tra-Sea, with its massive maw open, was right there.
Looking at the Tra-Sea, Vera thought.
(I see, so this is where it ends.)
While the surrounding scenery seemed to move strangely slowly, Vera looked back toward the ship in mid-air and reached out her hand.
The captain and crew members were reaching out toward the bridge door, though they couldn't reach her. They were shouting something, but Vera couldn't hear anything.
As she reached out her own hand, she felt as if this scene overlapped with a dream she had seen before.
(Was it... a prophetic dream?)
Not wanting to sink into the sea, she reached out. However, did the sight of her own crumbling world imply death? Vera thought so.
(I see, it really ends here... I wonder if I should have told him how I felt.)
The mouth of the Tra-Sea, slowly attempting to swallow her, drew near. Just as Vera closed her eyes to wait for the moment—.
"Cover your ears with both hands, and open your mouth."
Her outstretched hand was grabbed, and when she opened her eyes, Lyell was there, holding a massive cannon.
As he pulled Vera close, she ended up clinging to Lyell, who was drenched in blood, rain, and sea spray.
Lyell laughed.
"If the outside doesn't work, then from the inside... Once you've shown you can endure this, I'll show you my trump card, God of the Sea."
"Y-you... you're laughing."
"Come on, cover your ears."
Vera put her gun back in its holster, covered her ears, and opened her mouth. Then, Lyell pulled the trigger. He had his mouth open and was wearing earplugs.
A shockwave erupted, and the Tra-Sea closed its mouth.