kscans

Chapter 113 - The Battle on the Ship and the Sinking Vessel

As we climbed the stairs to the deck, we found the slaves who had gone ahead of us stopped at the door.

"Is something wrong?"

I asked the slave at the front. Were Famu and the others blocking the way?

"There are people fighting on deck."

"What?"

I squeezed past the slave and peered through the doorway to see the situation. The fire on deck was still raging. It looked much the same as it had before we went below. And there, Famu, Myra, and Aira were surrounding a man I didn't recognize. All of them had their weapons drawn. They were in the middle of a fight. Had a pirate who still had some fight left in him been hiding among the bodies? Or had one of the pirates they rescued turned on them? The man was holding a large cleaver. He was a tall, lanky human with long black hair, his black cloak with a crimson lining fluttering behind him. It should have been too early for enemies to board from the pursuing pirate ships with weapons drawn. I drew my katana.

"Mizuki! I don't know what's going on, but Famu and the others are in a fight. I'm going to back them up. When you see an opening, lead these guys to the sailing ship."

"Wait!"

Mizuki tried to say something, but I didn't wait to hear it and burst out onto the deck. I would end this in one blow. Catching the stranger by surprise, I closed the distance and brought my sword down in a diagonal slash.

"Ugh!"

The man I ambushed let out a cry and collapsed unceremoniously onto the deck.

"Who in the world is this guy?"

I glanced at Famu.

"Master, be careful!"

Famu shouted.

"?"

Hearing her words, I scanned our surroundings. Famu, Myra, and Aira appeared uninjured. However, they had frightened looks on their faces as they kept their weapons trained on the fallen man. He looked to be in his mid-twenties, young. I had felt the solid impact of my blade when I struck him. He didn't seem to be dead, but he shouldn't have been in any condition to fight. In the distance, I could see the two enemy galleys. They were too far for melee, not even arrows could reach us. I noticed the cannon fire had stopped. Looking up, I saw a massive, cone-shaped magical barrier had been erected, its tip pointing toward the enemy galleys. It must have been the work of Marmi and Cecily. They must have made it conical to deflect the cannonballs. As I expected, it was transparent like glass and reflected light in a rainbow of colors.

"Master! Behind you!"

Famu yelled again. I turned around to see the man I had just cut down standing up, brandishing his large cleaver.

"Dieeee!"

I wouldn't make it in time. Just as I thought that, Famu rushed forward and blocked the attack with her shield. It was a heavy blow. Famu couldn't support it with one hand and had to brace it with both. The man followed up with a horizontal swing of his cleaver. Famu blocked it again with her shield but was sent flying backward. I scrambled to catch her. As the man tried to press his attack, Myra and Aira made feinting motions, checking his advance. The man clicked his tongue and broke off the engagement. Famu's shield had been split in two. She unstrapped it and dropped it to the floor. Famu and I regained our footing and faced the man.

"Isn't it a bit cowardly to attack someone out of the blue like that?"

The man readied his cleaver again. The wound I had just inflicted on him was gone.

"Who are you?"

I demanded.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm a transmigrator."

The man smirked. I could see his long canine teeth. He had a long, handsome face. Quite the pretty boy.

"Are you with the guy who keeps firing that cannon? Tell him to stop; he's disturbing the peace."

I shot a meaningful glance at Mizuki, who was hiding in the doorway. She nodded and began to guide the slaves toward the sailing ship.

"Are you the one who summoned the goddess?"

"That's right. The name's Mash."

"Then you're my enemy. I am Onono Takamura. And the one firing the cannon is not a man."

"Your girlfriend?"

Takamura ran a hand through his hair and laughed, ignoring my question.

"Why are you working as a pirate?"

"Simple. To kill transmigrators. And to take that elf girl over there for myself."

"Are you allied with the Demon Kingdom?"

He didn't answer my question, instead raising his large cleaver.

"Do you really think you can win against all of us?!"

I dodged a blow from Takamura's cleaver and slashed at him. Famu followed my lead, striking with her scimitar. Takamura skillfully dodged our attacks, but took a blow from Myra's mace to his torso. As his posture crumbled, Aira brought her mace crashing down on his head. With a sickening crunch, Takamura's head shattered, and he collapsed.

"W-wasn't that a bit much…?"

I had wanted to get some information out of him if possible, but it was too late for that now.

"Mash, don't let your guard down!"

Aira shouted. And then, unbelievably, Takamura's shattered head regenerated, and he stood up. His eyes glowed red.

"An immortality special skill."

Pale-faced, with fang-like canines.

"That's right. I'm invincible!"

"A vampire…"

"Just so you know, sunlight, crosses, and garlic don't work on me."

Takamura responded to my murmur, baring his fangs in a grin.

Still, what were Avea and the others doing? They should have come to help by now. The water level had risen, lowering our ship's position, so we now had to look up to see the sailing ship. I couldn't make out what was happening on it. The enemy galleys were moving faster than expected and would soon be within arrow range. At this distance, their cannon fire could likely hit our ship with considerable accuracy. The reason they weren't firing was either because they were wary of Marmi's magical barrier, or because Takamura was on this ship and they didn't want to hit him. And our ship still hadn't reached the shore. There was no sign of the allied fleet that was supposed to be our backup. Mizuki returned after seeing the slaves off.

"What's the situation with our allies?"

I asked her.

"The captured pirates found out the two galleys are heading this way and started a revolt. They're having trouble quelling it."

"Why aren't we heading for the riverbank?"

"This is just my guess, but because of the sandbar, the river bulges out on both sides. That means the water is deeper near the sandbar, and the outer edges are shallow, so the ship can't get close to the bank."

Indeed, the border between the forest and the river was a gravelly shore that reflected the light white. That shore stretched far downstream. I had thought we could just abandon the ship and run it aground wherever, but that would mean we'd have to walk through the water to get to the shore. The water could be deeper than a person's height. Our situation was worse than I had imagined.

"…I see. In that case, Mizuki and I will take down Takamura. Famu, Myra, and Aira, get back to the sailing ship. Once you're back, cut this ship loose. Famu and Myra, I need you to protect Claire and the others. Aira, you guard Cecily."

"""What?!"""

The three of them cried out, their displeasure obvious.

"This ship is about to sink. It'll be a problem if there's anyone who can't swim."

"I refuse to accept that! Besides, I just remembered the ancient dog-eared swimming technique, the 'doggy paddle.' I'm sure I can do it!"

Famu, the one I was most worried about, exclaimed. She spoke as if she could do anything if she just put her mind to it. She might be able to, with practice, someday. But after seeing how badly she'd floundered when she tried to save me the other day, I couldn't agree. To be honest, though, Takamura's relaxed demeanor was unsettling, and I felt uneasy without the support of Famu's special skill.

"If you're worried about us, send Doris over."

She had mentioned she could swim, though she didn't say how well. Myra nodded at my words.

"Mash, he flew to get onto this ship. Be careful."

Was it a power that came with his immortality skill, or was it a second special skill?

Myra and Aira cast protective blessings on me and Mizuki. Then they dragged away Famu, who was still protesting and trying to stay.

"Sorry for the wait,"

I said to Takamura, readying my weapon.

"So, you were trying to escape to the shore after all."

"Mizuki, this guy's special skill makes him immortal, no matter how many times we cut him. Let's see if he's still immortal after we drain his mana."

I ignored Takamura's words and spoke to Mizuki.

"So that's your partner, huh?"

Instead of answering, I closed the distance and slashed at him. Takamura dodged with ease, but Mizuki, who had closed in further, struck him. Takamura's body wavered, but he quickly regained his balance. The wound was already gone.

"I-it really disappeared!"

As Mizuki stood there in shock, Takamura's cleaver came swinging down. Mizuki deflected it with her shield and slashed at him again. Takamura took the blow while swinging his cleaver in return. Her leather breastplate was torn.

"Hey! Cutting her clothes won't do you any good! She's got a swimsuit on underneath for protection!"

"Hey! What are you saying?"

Mizuki shouted. I moved to her opposite side and attacked Takamura. My foot slipped as I lunged, but my blade still tore into his shoulder. Seizing the opportunity as his face contorted in pain, Mizuki swung her sword down. I swung my katana up from a low stance.

"Gah!"

Takamura's body slumped under our combined attack. But by the time his knees hit the deck, the wounds he had received were already healed. He swung his cleaver wildly, forcing us out of his range.

"Not bad,"

Takamura laughed. A chill ran down my spine at his cold smile. His special skill seemed like a superior version of Mizuki's Super Save. Her ability prevented fatal blows, but she still took damage from normal attacks. He, however, could heal any wound. What about Mizuki's Super Kill? Would his immortality withstand even that? I raised my katana to a ready stance and closed in on Takamura. Mizuki moved to attack from my opposite side, but Takamura also moved to avoid being caught between us.

"You must realize you can't win against the two of us. Why don't you back down?"

He didn't answer, just raised his cleaver. I leaped into his guard and swung my katana. The blade bit into his stomach and stopped. Takamura took the hit while swinging his cleaver down. Mizuki, who had closed in from behind, deflected the blow with her shield. I kicked Takamura to dislodge my sword. As he staggered, Mizuki followed up with several thrusts. I was about to join in and turn him into a pincushion, but he escaped into the flames.

"Mash, this is endless."

"Yeah. But I'm starting to get a feel for it."

We faced Takamura across the flames. In that time, the cuts and burns he had sustained were healing.

"What did you figure out?"

"That Takamura is still human. Myra said he has a flight special skill. He's not attacking while flying. He probably can't use immortality and flight at the same time. And likely not a third special skill either. We're overwhelming him in this fight, yet he's not using it. And his goal is to cause chaos and keep us tied down here."

It meant he couldn't have multiple skills active at once, like my experience and drop rate boosts, or Mizuki's three special skills.

"So he's just wasting our time?"

I nodded.

"Does that even accomplish anything?"

"Who knows. Should we ask him?"

I turned my gaze to Takamura.

"You people don't understand. The depth of faith the humans have in the goddess Laciel."

"So what?"

I challenged him.

"Think about the Demon Lord subjugation a hundred years ago. Incited by someone claiming to be the goddess's envoy, the Empire went into a frenzy, formed a great army, and overran the Demon Kingdom. There's no way the human race would abandon an envoy with the power to manifest a goddess. As long as you don't return, they will not leave this place."