Alright. Let's just get the show on the road, shall we?
Chapter Eighteen: Cal Mira Wave of Catastrophe
"Wait, there's A WHAT?!"
Naofumi took a deep breath. He'd spent the last thirty minutes running around, trying to find where Ren and Itsuki were. Itsuki hadn't been on the beach, and Ren hadn't been in his room. And now, after gathering them both, at last, he broke the news.
Though he might have been a little frantic in his first attempt, making it hard for them to understand him.
"There's a Wave happening here in Cal Mira in… eleven hours." He repeated, after checking his HUD again.
Had it really been an hour since finding the Hourglass?! Why did it feel like time was going by so quickly?! "I found out because there's an Hourglass hidden at the bottom of the ocean."
Itsuki and Ren stared at Naofumi in shock. At first, he thought it was because they'd been caught off guard by the news, or that they might not have believed him, but then their faces became pale.
"Oh no… I forgot that was a rare side quest in my game." Itsuki muttered.
"Same," Ren admitted.
"Wait, you two knew this would happen?!" Naofumi yelled in disbelief.
"I mean, it's not like our gaming knowledge has been helpful in every instance!" Itsuki defended himself.
"And well… I've had to participate in some waves with Fitoria that were never in my game." Ren shrugged helplessly. The area of Siltvelt, the Prad Desert, and the countries around it hadn't even been a part of his game.
Naofumi groaned. "Of all the god damn times for your knowledge to actually be useful and you forgot about it-"
"Look, we're sorry." Itsuki quickly cut Naofumi off. "You can chew us out as much as you want later, but right now we need to do something while there's still time."
"But, we don't have much time…" Ren looked fearfully at Naofumi. "That dragon hourglass was at the bottom of the ocean, right? Wouldn't… wouldn't that mean…" He was paling more and more with each second.
"Ren… you can't swim, can you?" Naofumi finally asked.
…
"..." Ren shook fearfully. "Is it… is it that obvious?"
Naofumi looked at Itsuki. Then he sighed. "Alright. Take this." He gave a Kigurimi to Ren. Itsuki, upon seeing it, pulled his own Pekkel Kigurimi out of his Bow. "Filo should still be at the beach. Tell her I said she's to help you two get to the underwater temple and back safely."
"Wh-what are you going to do?" Itsuki asked.
"Melty went ahead to inform Count Hadenburg, and Raphtalia is telling your party members about this as we speak. I'm going to discuss our plan of action with the Count and try to get some kind of defense thrown together." Naofumi said. "We probably won't make it to Queen Mirellia in time to ask for help."
…
Both of them sadly nodded. "Yeah," Itsuki said. "There's no way we could gather the knights on the mainland on such short notice."
"Then buck up. We need to get ready for the Wave." Naofumi announced with determination. "The lives of everyone here will depend on how quickly we move, so hop to it!"
The two Heroes saluted and quickly rushed off to meet up with Filo at the beach. After seeing them off, Naofumi left the inn and ran through the town. After a little while, he approached Count Hadenburg's manor.
The guards up front didn't impede him, and within moments, he was in what was formerly Count Hadenburg's study. It was now a war room, with him, Melty, and several of his retainers in the middle of a discussion around a large table, showing a map of the islands.
"We could try evacuating everyone to the mainland. But if it takes too long, their ships could be caught in the Wave." One of the retainers pointed out.
"And if the Wave hits the islands, our streets will be flooded with monsters." Another retainer pointed out. "We wouldn't be able to use any high-tier magic without risking innocent lives."
"But there's no safer place on the island than the town!" The first retainer argued.
"But we don't have enough soldiers to guard it!" The second retainer yelled.
"Please, this is getting us nowhere." Count Hadenburg spoke up, cutting off their argument.
The two retainers immediately went silent. Looking away from their lord in shame.
"Ah, Sir Naofumi. Thank you for coming here." Count Hadenburg looked relieved at Naofumi's entrance. "Any advice that a Cardinal hero could give us would be greatly appreciated."
"I'm sorry. I don't know if I can be of much help here. I'm used to trying to evacuate people as a wave is going on, not before it hits." Naofumi rubbed his temples in frustration.
"Yes, but… some of the people here are too old to fight. And there is no place to evacuate them when the Wave hits. Using that strategy could end badly for my people." Count Hadenburg explained.
"Hmmm…" Naofumi looked at Melty. "How many and what kind of forces do we have stationed here?"
"Mother has two divisions of a hundred knights each that were leveling up. But they won't be enough to defend the town from an attack." Melty looked oddly serious now. Or maybe Naofumi had gotten used to seeing her being young and playful instead of trying to act like a mature princess. He'd almost forgotten how good she was at her job. "There are also several hundred sailors trained in naval combat." She added.
Even if she was annoying, she was definitely necessary here.
"Alright. What about if the Wave hits at sea?" Naofumi asked, pointing out the large areas of water on the map. There was far more sea than land in the area the Wave could possibly impact.
"It would be somewhat easier then." Count Hadenburg admitted. "The sailors here are quite capable of dealing with sea monsters. We wouldn't have to worry about damaging my people's homes. We also have more tactics that we could employ."
"But we'd still have to keep a number of people here in case the Wave Monsters hit the island. And even if we could bring everyone, we don't have enough sailors." One of the retainers said. "We'd have to conscript many of the adventurers here if we wanted to fight-"
"Then go ahead and do that." Naofumi cut him off while studying the map in front of him.
"... Sir Shield Hero…" The retainer swallowed nervously.
"If the knights and sailors aren't enough, then we should enlist the adventurers for help," Naofumi said. "They already came here to level up, so let's ask them for help. It doesn't matter where the Wave hits anyway. As long as the people are registered in mine or my comrades' parties, they'll be teleported with us to wherever the Wave will happen."
"So if it's here or out at sea, we could spare enough people to help the Heroes." Count Hadenburg agreed. "Still, that leaves the question of what to do for my people…" The count looked over the map again. Naofumi looked over it too.
"Sir Naofumi, during the Lute Wave, didn't you evacuate the villagers to the mines?" Melty asked.
"... Yes, I did." Naofumi looked at the map more closely, and drew his finger from the town to the mines on the other side of the island. "Are they infested with monsters?" He asked Count Hadenburg.
"No, they're not." The nobleman looked thoughtful. "It would definitely be easier to defend the civilians there if something goes wrong. The entrances are narrow enough that it'd only take a few men to guard."
"But, but the town-" One of the retainers tried to object.
"Can burn down for all I care." The count nodded his head. "We don't have any production facilities or any other industry of any kind that'd cripple us if it was lost. The loss of the goods from the warehouses at the docks will be unfortunate, but we'll try to take what we can with us while evacuating. If it means that my people will be safe and sound, then it's a price that I'm willing to pay."
Naofumi looked at Melty, who nodded. "I'll get to organizing the knights then."
"I'll get to rallying the people." The first retainer bowed.
"I'll… gather the adventurers." The second retainer said.
As they rushed off, Count Hadenburg grabbed Naofumi's arm before he could go. "There is one last thing I need to ask you, Sir Naofumi. If you fight, won't it reveal that the Cardinal Heroes are here?"
Naofumi gave him a look of disbelief. "Do you really think this matters now?!"
…
Hadenburg nodded. "I'm sorry. I've done my best to hide your presence here. I hope this won't have a negative impact on your reputation."
Naofumi gritted his teeth, but nodded. "Who the hell cares about that? We're supposed to protect people from the Waves." He walked for the exit of the room.
"We'd be a poor excuse for Heroes if we couldn't do that."
What followed was a blaze of activity that lasted long into the night.
Ren and Itsuki did manage to get to the Dragon Hourglass. However, because of the Kigimuri's flippers making it tough to hold onto feathers, it had required Filo having to push the Sword Hero along as she swam for the two of them.
Filo also said there were a lot of clanging sounds whenever Sword Guy waved his flippers around frantically. They'd gotten really annoying at some point, and she'd almost felt tempted to knock him out.
Apparently, even with the Kigimuri's help, Ren still couldn't swim. Naofumi almost wondered what'd happen if he were to be thrown into a four feet deep pool of water. Would he drown?
Besides that, the reactions from the people when they were told about the oncoming Wave were expected.
First, there was panic. Then, there was a rush to try and get to the docks and escape by ship. This was followed by Melty having to block the way with the Queen's knights, as well as Hadenburg walking in front of his people, telling them that they were to evacuate to the mines instead.
The Wave was too close to risk leaving by ship. They needed to go somewhere that could be easily defended.
Surprisingly, the people listened to the Count's calm and confident instructions and the initial panic died down. Though the knights had to keep a close eye on the docks during the evacuation to the mines.
Naofumi's respect for the man only grew from that instance.
While the evacuations were going on, volunteers were asked to help assist in the coming Wave. During that process, Naofumi, Itsuki, and Ren had to finally reveal that they were the Cardinal Heroes to help bring in more support.
There were, of course, surprised reactions, as well as mixed reactions. Some of the adventurers immediately decided to join, wanting to support the Cardinal Heroes, or thinking the Wave would be a piece of cake because of the Heroes being there.
Others were skeptical, muttering the things they'd heard about the Heroes. Some of them didn't believe they were the Heroes until they used their skills and changed their weapon forms, convincing them that they were the real deal.
There were also a few who were openly antagonistic to Naofumi because he was the Shield Hero that'd raped the First Princess. A few were also antagonistic to Itsuki as well, having heard of some of the atrocities he'd been responsible for. Oddly enough, Naofumi felt more angry at those who opposed Itsuki than who opposed him. Maybe he was becoming protective of the blonde boy, or maybe he felt all the hate should be on him? Either way, they left a far more sour taste in his mouth than his own antagonizers did.
Those who volunteered to assist in the wave were added to the Hero's sub-party systems.
L'Arc and Therese were there too, but he didn't get to talk with them. It looked like the two registered under Ren, but he wasn't sure and there was no time for social calls since they then had to register the sailors, the knights, and some of the volunteers living at Cal Mira who wanted to fight.
Naofumi also had a strategy meeting with Ren, Itsuki, Melty, and several of their party members to discuss plans and possible scenarios for the Waves. He wanted to make sure they were ready for any... nasty surprises that might pop up.
By the time they were finally done and Naofumi got back to his room with Raphtalia, it was late in the night, and there were only four hours left until the Wave would hit.
"Naofumi, you must rest." Raphtalia firmly told him.
"I can't. I still have to compound Soul Healing Water and Magic Healing Water and all the other potions and medicines me and the others will need tomorrow in case the monsters are poisonous, or in case me and the others run out of SP, or-"
Raphtalia put a hand on his shoulder, silencing him. "I know. I appreciate that you want to be prepared to protect everyone." She turned him to face her. "But you won't be any good if you're slow and sluggish from lack of sleep."
…
Naofumi's face fell, and he hung his head. "If we'd only found that temple sooner. I wouldn't have to worry so much. I just… I wish we'd had more time to plan... to prepare..."
Raphtalia smiled. "We're a lot stronger than before, Naofumi. And if we're not strong enough, you and Itsuki have your new magic to help us out. And if any of us do get hurt, I'm sure that your healing magic and potions will be up to the task."
"..."
She kissed his forehead. "Besides, don't you have all those leftover medicines from the last Wave?" She asked him.
"Yeah… I guess…" Naofumi muttered.
"Then you don't have to make anything. Please, go rest." She ordered.
"Okay…" She led him to the bed, but after he sat down, he grabbed her hand before she could walk to the sleeping spot on the floor. "Could… could you… hold me tonight?" Naofumi asked. He looked unusually vulnerable and rattled.
…
Raphtalia nodded, and laid beside Naofumi, holding him close. He turned to face her, and rested his head below her chin, listening to her heartbeat.
He was so frazzled by his nerves he didn't even think about his trauma. Right now, what he needed was comfort.
He remembered times that felt long ago when he'd had her listen to his heart to help calm her down. Now, doing this, he could tell why Raphtalia had been so soothed by the rhythmic sound.
His eyes slowly closed. And his arms hugged his girlfriend tightly. He could feel his nerves settling down, and his eyes growing heavy.
"Thank you for helping me tonight." He whispered.
"Always." She whispered back.
Soon, his worries and fears for the coming Wave drifted away, and he softly smiled listening to Raphtalia's heartbeat as he fell into a dreamless sleep.
Knock Knock Knock!
Naofumi jolted awake. He was alone in the bed, which shocked him for a second, but then he saw that Raphtalia was nearby, dressed in her armor. It looked like she'd been doing her normal one-finger push-ups before she got up and answered the door.
"Is Naofumi awake?" Ren asked. The rest of his party stood behind him. All of them were clad in their gear. Ren was also holding a white blade with streaks of sky blue along its length. An emblem of an ahoge crown was on its hilt.
"Yes, I am," Naofumi spoke out before Raphtalia could answer. He got up and approached the door. "What is it?"
"We're gathering at the ships now. I'm just making sure that everyone else is awake." Ren said.
Naofumi looked at his HUD. There were only thirty minutes left until the Wave would hit. Looking outside, the sun was barely starting to peek over the horizon. It'd only been three hours, but at least he didn't feel exhausted. "Alright. We'll meet you at the docks."
Ren nodded, and then gestured for his party to follow him. They continued down the hallway.
Naofumi put his armor on, and then checked over the Shields he had.
Soul Eater Shield (Awakened) (35/35) SR+:
Ability Locked: equip bonus: skill "second shield" spirit resistance (medium), spirit attack resistance (medium) SP up: special effect soul eat SP recovery (weak), drain null, wall escape, undead control: mastery level 20: item enchantment level 12 SP 17% up
In the end, he ended up equipping the Soul Eater Shield. Thanks to using the strengthening methods on it, it'd become even stronger than the Chimera Viper Shield. It'd definitely responded more strongly to the strengthening methods than the Chimera Viper Shield. He never had a chance to use it on the islands though due to its strange appearance. The red eyes of the Soul Eater definitely would have creeped the average person out. He'd also been too busy unlocking other shields at the village to unlock this one.
He sighed, once again wishing he had more time.
"You ready?" Raphtalia asked him.
"As I'll ever be." He muttered.
She then surprised him by grabbing his face and kissing him. After a few seconds, she pulled back and gave him a smile. "We'll be fine." She said it with such confidence that Naofumi had no choice but to believe her.
"Alright."
The two left their room, meeting up with Melty and Filo as well as Dou-Lon and Eclair outside. For once, Naofumi's group held a solemn air around them. They didn't have a bit of trouble on their way to the docks. The town was completely deserted, besides the hustle and bustle of adventurers also heading for the docks.
"I'm sorry we didn't have time to get your class up before this Dou-Lon." Naofumi talked to the Hakuko as they walked.
"It's fine, Lord Naofumi. I'm far stronger now than I was during the Last Wave." Dou-Lon then felt his arm with a grimace. "I'm more worried about how sore I am from Miss Eclair training me so roughly the last few days."
Eclair looked like she was going to say something, but then closed her mouth.
If she had known a Wave was on the horizon, she would have taken it easier on him. Honestly... probably...
"Do you need a healing potion now? I have plenty-" Naofumi began to say.
"It's fine. I'm only a little sore. Let's save them for the people who'll need them this wave." Dou-Lon said.
Naofumi didn't try to press it any further after that.
The Shield Hero saw L'Arc and Therese on the way there, but when he tried to wave them down, they disappeared into the crowd. "Do you think they didn't see us?" Raphtalia asked him.
"I don't know…" Naofumi could have sworn he saw L'Arc glance at him. But it was hard to tell.
When they got to the docks, Naofumi found six large ships waiting for them. One of them looked like the ship they'd taken to get to Cal Mira. That was also the ship they would be stationed on for the Wave.
As they got on board, he saw two sailors rolling large wooden barrels onto the deck.
"Be careful. You don't want to touch those." Melty gestured.
"What are they?" Naofumi asked.
"Ruculu barrels." The Second Princess answered. "They're meant for the monsters."
"Oh, okay. So it's one of those 'nobody but me' can touch them deals." Naofumi shrugged. Speaking of which, he still had some of those ruculus from that bar. He wondered about pulling one out, then looked around.
Yep, no one was paying him any attention. He popped one out of his shield and ate it.
"Naofumi!" Raphtalia berated him.
"What, no one was looking," Naofumi said as he chewed the fruit. Mmmm, the taste was already helping to relax him. He also felt a little more energized than before. Maybe he should sneak another one, and-
"Um… Sir Naofumi… are you feeling ok?" Eclair asked him worriedly.
He looked at the other members of his party. Eclair and Melty had both paled, and Dou-Lon was staring at him in complete and utter shock.
…
Oh, yeah. He hadn't told the rest of them about his immunity.
Oops.
"Keep this to yourselves. The last thing I need is people connecting me to the drinking demon from the island." Naofumi told them.
"Oh, uh, of course, Lord Naofumi! No one will hear from me that you can eat the-" Eclair slapped her hand over the Hakuko's mouth.
"We will not speak of this." She said dryly. "Ever."
Dou-Lon angrily glared at her.
Several minutes later, the gangplanks were pulled in, and the mooring lines were unraveled from the docks. The small fleet moved out towards the sea.
Naofumi paced back and forth across the deck, watching as the timer counted down.
00:05:00
Melty continued giving out instructions to the sailors and adventurers on their ship. It was weird, seeing her in her normal outfit again. Her hair color was also back to normal, thanks to Raphtalia not reapplying her illusion magic to it that morning.
Though it was noteworthy that she didn't have her hair in her typical twin pigtails style anymore. Her blue hair fell freely around her shoulders. It was weird. It made Melty look even less childish and more like an actual leader than before.
Eclair and Dou-Lon were quietly standing guard near Naofumi, their hands tensely gripping their weapons in anticipation.
After confirming the state of his party members, the Shield Hero looked over at the other ships.
Ren was hugging the mast of his ship. It looked like several of his party members were trying to convince him to let go of it.
It was honestly sad to see.
It took a little while, but he eventually found Itsuki's ship. The Bow Hero was near the stern, manning a ballista-
Wait, Naofumi had to blink several times upon seeing that. Itsuki was manning a ballista.
Did that mean he couldn't just unlock small bows?! He could operate big siege weapons too!? That was totally unfair! And to think he'd felt bad about people being antagonistic towards him yesterday!
"You don't look so worried anymore." Raphtalia quietly spoke up next to him.
"No, I'm just annoyed." Naofumi pointed at the Bow Hero in the distance.
Raphtalia looked and sweatdropped at the reason for Naofumi's annoyance. "On the bright side, that should mean Sir Itsuki will have plenty of power in this wave, right?"
Naofumi grumbled. Raphtalia rubbed his shoulder comfortingly.
The Shield Hero truly was a strange man.
00:00:30
"Thirty seconds!" Naofumi shouted at the upper deck.
"All hands, prepare for battle!" Melty exclaimed loudly.
The sailors and knights began moving uniformly on their ships. It was a bit more chaotic with the adventurers, but soon, the ballista were manned. Archers lined the decks. Sailors were armed with harpoons. And ruculu barrels stood at the ready on the sides of the ship.
"Remember, we're only to deal with the monsters of the Wave. Leave the boss monster for the Heroes!" Melty yelled. "If we do our parts, we'll protect the world from the Waves once more!"
Cheers erupted from every ship. Naofumi sweatdropped. Wasn't Melty laying it on a little thick?
"You're thinking something rude, aren't you?" Raphtalia pouted.
00:00:03
"Maybe," Naofumi smirked.
He wouldn't be normal if he wasn't rude once in a while. He was ready for this Wave now.
00:00:00
A loud sound like glass breaking split the air as a bright light surrounded everything, including the ships.
Then, the light vanished, and the fleet was gone.
With a flash of light, the fleet reappeared in another part of the sea.
Thank goodness the Wave was out at sea, and thank goodness it'd also brought their ships along. Ren would be having a hell of a time otherwise.
Naofumi looked up, seeing the now painfully familiar red tint in the sky, and the vortexes swirling up above. Though, more worryingly, some of those vortexes extended all the way down into the water this time.
"I just had a thought. What if the monsters that appear are unable to swim?" Dou-Lon asked.
"That'd make our job a lot easier." Naofumi frowned. However, after seeing what kind of monsters were falling out of the rifts, Naofumi didn't think that'd be the case.
Inter-Dimensional Sahuagin Shadow
One of them landed on the deck in front of him, and Naofumi was forced to immediately block a clawed swipe at Eclair. Seeing it up close made him cringe slightly. The creature was similar to the shadow goblins and lizardmen they'd fought during the last wave, but this one was obviously adapted to a more marine habitat. It's fingers and toes were fused together, forming a membrane. Each one bore a sharp, wicked-looking hooked claw.
Up close, it looked like a half-man, half-fish creature. The monster's body was covered in black, fish-like scales that glistened ominously in the dim red light. But the most striking feature about it was its eyes. They were filled with mindless aggression, devoid of any signs of intelligence. Its irises were disproportionately large and pitch-black, almost like a pair of bottomless pits.
It opened its maw and let out an ear-splitting screech of frustration when its attacks proved to be futile against Naofumi, revealing multiple rows of sharp fangs that curved inwards into its mouth.
"Hah!" Raphtalia charged in and slashed it in two from hip to shoulder blade. With a dying screech, it dissolved into multiple indistinct shadowy pieces.
While the first one was easily dispatched, more and more of these monsters began to fall into the ocean around them. A group of sailors armed with harpoons bellowed a battle cry before suddenly leaping overboard and diving down into the ocean, impaling multiple sahuagin that were in the process of climbing the side of the ship.
"Archers!" Melty shouted.
The line of knights standing on the edge of the ship's railing released a wave of arrows, shredding multiple shadowy creatures before they could land in the water or on the deck. A few of their limp courses landed down on the ships, smashing against the wood with loud wet smarks before dispersing into puddles of inky black substance. Those that did land on the ships alive were surrounded by adventurers, fixing the problem really quickly.
Looking out over the battlefield, Naofumi noticed that similar things were happening on the other ships.
"AHAHAHAHA! YES! More! Give me more!" Aksel yelled excitedly, swinging his large ax around and bisecting one monster after another with ease. The adventurers gave him a wide berth.
"Oh dear, he's gone into blood frenzy mode, hasn't he?" Karn rolled his eyes nearby.
"Quit standing around and fight you lazy bum!" Crystal yelled behind him while impaling another Sahuagin that was trying to climb up and kicking its body overboard.
Karn shrugged. "Oh well. Guess my vacation's over then." He turned around and beheaded a fish monster just as it landed behind him.
At his ballista, Itsuki was patiently observing the water. Suddenly, he turned the siege weapon slightly and fired a bolt.
A line of Sahuagins who'd jumped out of the water at him got impaled by the single bolt, sending them all hurtling back into the water before dissolving.
A second later, Itsuki turned again, nailing another monster between the eyes as it tried to climb over the railing.
Normal ballista should not have been capable of reloading that fast.
...
Between all the backup that they had and the relative weakness of their foes, it was relatively easy for Naofumi and his party to defend their ship. However, some of the sailors who'd been fighting underwater suddenly resurfaced. "Princess! They're coming from down below too!" One of them yelled.
The very sea that they were on seemed to heave, lifting the ships slightly as an almost innumerable amount of Sahuagins emerged from the depths of the ocean all around them. They rolled in the air, flying over the ship's railing before slamming into the knights like a bunch of bowling balls.
"Ahhh!" One knight screamed in terror as a Sahuagin's hooked fangs clamped around his arm.
Naofumi scowled. His assumption turned out to be correct. They weren't just falling from the sky. They were appearing from rifts underwater too.
"Air Strike Shield! Second Shield!" He quickly summoned two shields, protecting some of the knights and sailors from the sudden onrush. Dou-Lon, Eclair, and Raphtalia scrambled to help the knights while Filo jumped over the edge, transforming to her Queen form to assist as well.
"Sailors, get out of the water!" Melty ordered. "Archers, guard their retreat! Adventurers, prepare the ruculu barrels!"
It was only thanks to Melty's quick orders that most of the sailors got onto their ships safely. Filo was able to grab more than a few even while fending off the monsters. Still, Naofumi watched while helping to heal those with injuries as several sailors were dragged underwater by the horde of monsters.
Filo tried to dive after them, but there was only so much they could do.
Once the remaining sailors were all safely on board, the adventurers started to push the ruculu barrels overboard.
Even though he'd been told about how dangerous they were, Naofumi still wondered if they'd really be effective in combat.
Boom!
Then, one of them exploded dramatically, sending a massive geyser of bubbles into the air. The sea itself slowly turned red. Then, the corpses of fish and monsters began to float up to the surface.
The explosion had completely ripped several dozen of the beasts apart! And those that were still alive with alcohol poisoning got bombarded by a fresh wave of arrows from the archers.
He'd been told how much alcohol was in a single ruculu, but to see a part of the sea turned to alcohol from one barrel of it!
"Why the hell didn't we start with this?" Naofumi asked Melty angrily.
"It wouldn't have been as effective if we didn't lure them in first." She calmly stated.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
More explosions were heard around the other ships.
"I hope you're right. For the sake of those who died in the water." Naofumi muttered under his breath.
They continued into the battle in earnest.
"Ren, let go of that stupid mast already! What's gotten into you?!" Wyndia yelled at the Sword Hero.
"I-I-I don't want to fall into the water!" Ren shouted back in terror. The explosions were causing the ship he was on to rock around like crazy. "Besides, I can fight from here just fine! Look! Thunderbolt Slash!" He slashed downward with his sword, launching the skill at several Sahuagins and frying them as they attempted to climb on board.
"You won't fall into the water! We'll make sure that it doesn't happen!" Tersia shouted near him.
"Ren, do you trust us!?" Wyndia suddenly leaned in closely.
"Wha-?" The Sword Hero choked out in surprise at her invading his personal space.
"Do you trust us!?" Wyndia asked again.
"O-of course I do, but what does this-"
"Ren I swear, if anything happens, we'll save your stupid butt! Right guys?!" Wyndia asked the others.
"Of course." "Anytime." "Always."
Ren shook fearfully. "D-do you promise?" He stuttered again as he asked.
"Of course. Fight as hard as you can and don't worry about a thing! Show everyone that you're the strongest hero here!" Wyndia pointed across the sea at Itsuki, who released a wave of bolts over the water, impaling many different Sahuagins.
"...okay." Ren slowly let go of the mast at last and joined his party in fighting off the monsters up close.
On the other ship, Aksel continued to massacre the fishmen like the grim reaper reaping the souls of the damned. "COME ON! GIVE ME A CHALLENGE!" The ax wielder yelled.
He continued to laugh, then, his blood frenzy was interrupted by a nearby knight screaming in terror. Quickly turning, he found the poor sap desperately trying to hold the Sahuagin over him back. The knight had lost his weapon and was in the middle of a losing wrestling match with one of the monsters.
"Come now! I thought the royal knights were made of tougher stock than this!" With a deft swing of his ax, Aksel decapacitated the monster, freeing the knight from its clutches. "After all, you folks rejected me when I first tried to join!"
"B-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-"
"Quit your blabbering! We're in the middle of a battle here! Now go find your sword, or else you'll-" Aksel was yelling.
"B-behind you!" The knight screeched in terror.
Aksel quickly turned his head around only to see three different Sahuagins leaping at him. He quickly raised his ax to defend himself while the fishmen tried to tear his throat out and slash his back to ribbons. "Gah! get off me you damn-"
Unfortunately, while he tried to get the trio off his back, a few more tackled him upfront, finally making him lose his balance and his ax as he fell over with a heavy thud. He struggled to free himself. It was a small blessing that after getting a class up and the hero service seal his defense had gone up so high that all of the attacks raining on him left barely a scratch. Even when a Sahuagin bit down on his neck, he barely got a paper cut. If only he could punch them off though.
The fishmen, feral as they were, seemed to understand that too and he felt the assault on him weaken.
...only to be replaced with the realization that they had started to drag him towards the ship's edge.
"Oh hell no!" His defense would not protect him from drowning. He doubled his efforts but no matter how much he struggled, it was in vain. The group's combined attack power was enough to completely restrain him.
He watched in fear as the water's edge got closer and closer. "Gah! Will somebody help me already!" Where was that damn knight he'd just rescued for crying out loud?! Couldn't they at least be somewhat useful-
"Gee, Axie-poo, I thought you'd never ask!"
As if on cue, one of the Sahuagin's heads fell off, making the rest stop and gape in surprise. Then the same happened to another, and another. Within seconds, the entire crowd that was dragging Axel lay dead, their corpses collapsing on top of him before dissolving into some oily black substance.
"Pfft! Pfft! Ugh! This stuff tastes nasty!" Aksel spat out a few times while wiping the shadowy substance out of his helmet. "Why the hell didn't you help me earlier if you were there Maya?!"
"Well Axie, you were looking so brash and cocksure when you were showing up that soldier. I didn't want to hurt your man's pride or "steal" your kills." The Raccoon girl reappeared from her illusion. "You're welcome by the way." She teased while twirling a dagger in her fingers.
"Okay, okay I get it, geez." The knight stood back up, no worse for the wear. "I mean, can you blame me? We're actually doing things this time instead of just standing around like a bunch of cardboard cutouts."
"Yea, I guess I get what you mea-" She pondered while touching the bottom of her lip with the tip of her dagger when the knight in front of her suddenly jerked his hand forward and threw his ax next to her head. The attack eviscerated another sahuagin mid-flight as it jumped out of the water and tried to pounce on Maya.
Maya looked back with a sweat drop while Axel walked past her and pulled the ax out of the wood that it had embedded itself into. "How about we continue this conversation when we aren't fighting an invading army of demons from hell."
"Yea, yea. That sounds fine to me." She nodded nervously while glancing around, expecting another ambush.
"And uh... thanks for the backup." Aksel scratched the back of his head while looking away.
"Any time." The girl grinned.
'These people are %^&*ing insane.' The knight that Aksel had rescued muttered under his breath while picking his sword back up and returning to his comrade's formation.
He wasn't sure what to be more afraid of: the monsters, or the people who could effortlessly Oneshot them while nonchalantly talking to each other.
"Zweite Hellfire!"
"Zweite Air Slash!"
Farrie and Tersia continued chanting and hurtling their spells at the Sahugins that fell on the front part of the ship. Much to the younger girl's annoyance, her spells were noticeably weaker than Tersia's now.
"No fair, why do you have to be so much more powerful than me?!" Farrie whined as the Sahuagin she'd targeted came stumbling out of her fire.
"Fast Air Slash!" That same Sahuagin was finished off by Tersia's spell which shredded its body with a blade of pressurized air. "Isn't it obvious? It's because I have the Hero Service Seal and you don't." Tersia said calmly.
Farrie pouted and started chanting again, but then stopped midway through to gag. "Urk, I feel like I'm going to puke. These monsters stink like rotten fish! Couldn't they have showered before this?!"
"I don't think it would have helped them. Now focus, Farrie." Tersia noticeably plugged her own nose as several Sahuagins surrounded them.
They really did stink. Like rotten fish that'd been resting on dead seaweed. And now they were starting to move in a little too close for comfort-
One of the Sahuagins was split in two down the middle. Bakta, wielding a new greatsword and shield that he'd gotten on the island, slammed himself into the monster's midst.
The Sahuagins screeched and tried to claw and bite at him, but his armor protected him as he sliced with his sword and bashed with his shield, spinning around the deck like an unstoppable tornado of steel and death. Within seconds, the Sahuagins that were trying to close in on the mages were defeated.
He gave them a confident smirk. "Sorry, girls, I'll make sure these stinkos don't get close again. Feel free to keep on blasting them to hell!" Bakta gave them a proud salute before continuing to slash up other monsters that tried to approach them.
For once, the man actually did look befitting of his nobility as he fought.
Farrie blinked once, looking at the knight's back with a slight blush.
"For a man who can't read, he can be pretty reliable sometimes, huh." Tersia teased her.
"We really should do something about that," Farrie muttered before resuming her spell casting.
"Mhmm." The blonde next to her made a brief nod before joining her.
"Hah! That makes 58 kills for me! How about you, Miss Eclair?!" Dou-Lon proudly asked after spearing another Sahuagin on his lance.
"This isn't a contest, weak Hakuko. We are fighting for our lives here." Eclair grumbled.
"What's that?! You afraid that you're going to lose for once?!" Dou-Lon asked, sounding smug.
"Four Cross!"
"Eep!" Dou-Lon ducked as Eclair suddenly blazed at him.
But she blazed past him, her magic attack slashing up a group of Sahuagins who'd climbed up the railing behind him. Within seconds, they were nothing but shadowy pieces that Eclair flicked off her sword.
"Focus on the battle, unless you really have a death wish," Eclair told him crossly.
"Ah, okay." Dou-Lon rushed towards another part of the ship to help some of the sailors while Eclair looked at her blade with a frown.
"Tch, still only thirty-seven…"
"HAH! I KNEW IT! I'M WINNING!" The Hakuko suddenly reappeared next to her with a cocky smirk before bellowing a laugh.
"The wave isn't over yet Hakuko! We'll see who'll have the last laugh!" The rose-haired knight roared in defiance before brandishing her blade and charging into a crowd of monsters.
Dou-Lon chuckled before shaking his head and spearing another Sahuagin while it was distracted with an adventurer. He realized that he finally had an edge over the crazy human swordswoman at something.
Eclair, meanwhile, continued to be embarrassed about the fact that she was underperforming the most in Naofumi's party.
"All Drifa Water Shot!"
Even Princess Melty was getting more kills than her.
Naofumi looked down at the water as he held a Sahuagin by the neck and allowed the knights around him to slash into it.
The ruculu barrels had definitely killed a lot of the monsters, leaving only those that had landed on their ship which was much more manageable for the non-archers. This also gave the long-ranged combatants a chance to direct their aim at the beasts brimming outside the alcohol zones surrounding the ship.
But this strategy wasn't foolproof. The alcohol around the first explosion was being diluted by the waves of the ocean. Soon, that'd be free territory for the monsters once more, and they'd be able to climb on board from the ocean again.
"Second Princess!" One of the knights yelled.
Turning, the Shield Hero saw that one of the fishmen had landed behind Melty and grabbed her. His eyes widened in shock. Damn it Naofumi, pay less attention to the water and more on-
"Hiya!" But then, Melty grabbed the monster by its hands, pulled it up into the air, and slammed it into the wooden deck in front of her.
"Zweite Water Slash!" With one spell, she slashed it into two large pieces. She then glared at the others on the ship. "Focus! These small fries won't hurt me!"
Everyone cheered at that and focused on the monsters anew.
Naofumi almost forgot. Melty was at a far higher level now compared to the last wave. Her stats were more than a match for the 'small fry' as she'd called them.
And to be honest, they really were small fry. Naofumi didn't even need to use his shield to defend himself, and he could hold them in place with just one hand. Raphtalia was right. His healing magic was enough to heal most of the injuries he was dealing with now.
"That just leaves the boss for us," Naofumi muttered, looking out over the ocean.
Fighting continued around him and he looked from one wave rift to the next.
He had as of yet to see how the Boss monster for a Wave appeared. He wondered if it appeared at the start of a Wave. Or if it appeared after a certain number of regular monsters were killed.
He didn't see Ren or Itsuki leaving their ships. It was understandable why the former didn't. But if the latter was staying at his ballista, there had to be a reason-
Before he could finish that thought, the sea heaved again and this time, it didn't just rock their fleet.
GWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
A deep, unearthly bellow from the depths was the only warning everyone got before the middle ship was completely ripped apart.
Countless screams overlapped each other along with the sounds of splashing water, wood being splintered, and sails tearing up.
A colossal figure, even bigger than their fleet's flagship that Naofumi was standing on erupted from the sea, throwing up several tons worth of water into the air.
Inter-Dimensional Whale
The boss monster this time was as beautiful as it was terrifying. It was a long pale white whale with a long twisting horn growing out of its head. Its body was covered in many different gems that shone with all the colors of the rainbow. The jewels almost made it feel improper for Naofumi to call it a whale.
But its most outstanding feature was its sheer size. If it hadn't been for the horn and the jewel-encrusted body, the Shield Hero would have assumed he was looking at the real-life version of Moby Dick.
"Ahhhhhhh!" Ren's scream of terror snapped Naofumi out of his stupor as several things suddenly became apparent. The ship that had just been obliterated was the one that Ren had been stationed on. And the young man in question was currently spinning through the air over the ocean. He desperately tried to slow his descent with one of his skills, but his scream was cut short as he smashed headfirst into one of the sinking masts. His body then rag-dolled into the water with a splash.
"REEEEEN!" Itsuki screamed and turned his ballista, putting the sights right over the shimmering white whale. "YOU BASTARD! THUNDER-" Before he could finish, however, his own ship shook and jerked violently.
When the boss had surfaced, he didn't only destroy one of their ships but also displaced a large amount of water. The massive wave created from this slammed into the rest of the fleet. Something that Itsuki hadn't paid any mind to since he was watching one of his friends fall into the water.
"-ARROW!" Itsuki somehow managed to keep his grip on the siege weapon and launch the skill in the direction of the boss.
The sky itself briefly flashed white and the sound of rolling thunder deafened everyone as the lightning bolt shot through the air.
GWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOO!
The beast bellowed again, this time in pain, as one of its flippers was blown clean off its body along with several gems. Blood rained down into the water, staining it even redder than it already was. The part of the whale's body that the lighting bolt had grazed was badly fried, adding the smell of charcoal and ozone to the battlefield.
Even though Itsuki had managed to get the skill off, the intense shaking of the vessel he was on messed with his aim. What should have been a certain kill shot aimed at its head only succeeded in wounding the beast.
With one last pained bellow, the whale sank back into the water and out of Itsuki's reach before he could get another shot out.
""%^&*&! %^&*&! %^&*!" Naofumi cursed repeatedly. "GET THE ROWBOATS DOWN! NOW! NOW!" He shouted at the sailors.
Itsuki jumped down from the ballista and it promptly transformed back into a more compact bow.
"Okay, people you heard Naofumi! We need to help t-"
Suddenly the ship rocked violently again and this time it was accompanied by an ear-splitting noise of an explosion followed by more screams.
"Fire! Fire!" Someone shouted in panic. The Bow Hero quickly turned his head at the source of the explosion. It looked like one of the adventurers had his spell knocked off course, blowing up a section of the ship instead of the Sahuagin he'd been aiming for.
"God... god damn it! How!?" He shouted in anger.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry!" The adventurer was whimpering while clutching a staff. "I swear, I didn't mean to! It took me off guard, and-"
The bow hero gritted his teeth as more screams were heard around him. The monsters had realized the Bow Hero had stopped shooting and were starting to climb on the side of the ship with renewed vigor. The boat groaned ominously and began to tilt sideways under the weight of the horde that was climbing it.
"The fire's spreading! We have to stop it before it gets to the ruculu storage or we're all going to blow sky high!" One of the sailors shouted back while rushing in to form a bucket chain.
"Sir Itsuki! Why did you stop!? Keep shooting or we'll get overwhelmed!" Rachel, the black-haired mage ran up.
"But Ren is- and the fire and-" Itsuki looked conflicted from everything that had suddenly gone wrong.
"We'll take care of the fire Itsuki!" Rishia ran up as well. "But we need someone to cover us!"
"But what abou-" The bow hero gestured to the slowly sinking remains of Ren's ship.
"Look!" Aksel pointed at the wreckage.
Itsuki did and with his enhanced vision, he was able to see Wyndia leaping down from one of the debris pieces and diving into the water where Ren had sunk moments ago. Welt and Bakta also followed suit.
"Sir Ren's allies will rescue him. Right now we need you to keep protecting us Itsuki!" Karn told him.
"Don't think about anything and just focus on the enemies!" Crystal shouted as she ran up as well.
"I-I-" Itsuki's grip on his weapon tightened and his panicked expression changed back into a resolute one. "Do your best. I'm counting on you guys."
He slammed the bow into the deck and it transformed into a siege weapon again. "Rain of Arrows!" He pointed it up, launching the skill above them. The bolt, splitting apart into dozens of smaller ones, plunged into the bodies of the monsters clambering all over the ship.
With the boat no longer rocking and the horde temporarily thinned, Itsuki's party was able to focus on putting out the fire.
"Drifa Shadow Wave." Finishing her chant, a wave of darkness came from Rachel's outstretched hand, covering over a section of flames.
"Zweite Water Shot!" Rishia alongside a group of adventurers, holding their hands in front of them, launched balls of water repeatedly into the biggest sections of flames.
"Hahhhhhhh!" Aksel, charging like the madman he was, ran into the fire repeatedly, grabbing pieces of flaming debris before running out and throwing them overboard into the maws of other monsters.
Karn and Crystal helped protect the sailors, who used their bucket chain to also throw water over the fire.
Eventually, through their combined efforts, the fire on the ship was put out.
And fortunately, it hadn't reached any of the ruculu barrels left on board.
Meanwhile, Naofumi was rushing to help pull some of the wounded sailors onto the rowboat that he was on.
"Ah!" One of them was suddenly pulled underwater by a Sahuagin.
"Filo!" Naofumi called.
"Kayyyy~" The girl dove overboard, turning into her Filolial Queen form.
A moment later, she resurfaced, the sailor fortunately still alive in her clutches. "Daddy, there's plenty more drowning down below!" Filo said worriedly.
"Alright, Dou-Lon, protect the boats. Raphtalia-" Naofumi turned to his girlfriend.
However, she'd already dived out of the boat into the ocean. A few seconds later, she resurfaced, helping to support a sailor missing his left arm. "I'm on it." She said.
Naofumi nodded to her, then jumped on Filo's back before they dove underwater once more.
'Damn it, where's Ren?!' Naofumi looked around. All he could see were those still reeling from their ship being destroyed, those sinking because of their heavy armor, or those who were desperately fighting off the Sahuagins.
With little choice, Naofumi was forced to focus on saving those closest to him.
Nearby, Wyndia was clutching the still form of Ren close to herself as she swam upward. She was cursing in her mind about the fact that she couldn't use Dragon Vein underwater to fend off the hordes of Sahuagin surrounding them. She was also cursing the fact that it felt like her armor was weighing her down. Fortunately, Bakta and Welt were down here with her, fending the monsters off while she swam towards the surface with their leader.
She'd never felt so grateful to have them around. It was only thanks to them that she could do this. She wouldn't be able to fight and save Ren at the same time.
After a moment, she finally breached the surface. She coughed as she pulled Ren up above the water as well, before pushing him onto a piece of floating debris that was once part of the ship's hull.
However, her eyes widened in shock when he didn't take a deep breath.
Climbing on and putting an ear over his mouth, she found that he wasn't breathing.
Ren wasn't breathing.
...
Ren wasn't breathing!
...
REN WASN'T BREATHING!
"Cough cough, Wyndia, is Ren ok?" Welt asked as he surfaced from the water.
"HE'S NOT BREATHING!" She yelled at him in a panic.
"What?!" Welt looked surprised, and was nearly pulled under by a Sahuagin that gripped onto one of his legs. He slashed the monster across the face with his sword before it could pull him fully under though. "Start giving him CPR! Hurry! I don't know how much longer me and Bakta can fend all these off!-" He disappeared under the water before he could finish.
"CPR… CPR…" Wyndia tried to breath in calmly to gather herself.
Right, she could do that. There was still a chance to save Ren from drowning.
She opened Ren's mouth with her hands, and then moved her hands over Ren's chest before she started doing hard chest compressions to force the water in his lungs out.
She worriedly scanned his face as she did so. He still wasn't breathing, even though she was pushing down so roughly that the water was spurting out of his mouth. Would he hurt from this?
Better that he hurt than die!
Over a dozen chest compressions later, Ren still wasn't breathing.
Did that mean she'd have to move on to mouth to mouth…
No, Wyndia shook her head. This wasn't the time to be embarrassed. Ren's life was on the line here! He still had so much to do! She still had to confess to him! She had to save him, no matter what!
She did one last chest compression, and moved to breathe life into Ren's body when-
"COUGH COUGH COUGH!" Ren started coughing into her face. Clearing his lungs of the rest of the water in them.
Wyndia stared down at him. Water dripping from her face.
"Sh... Shion…?" Ren tiredly blinked his eyes. Was that...
After blinking a few times though, his vision cleared and he saw Wyndia was the one staring down at him.
"Oh, hey Wyndia. Heh, you really did save me." He managed to say tiredly while reaching into his sword for a potion. "Thank you."
"... What did I tell you, dummy." Wyndia snorted, but it looked like she was trying to hold back tears of relief. "Next time, don't drown in the middle of a fight."
"I'll try not to." Ren smiled tiredly.
Wyndia turned her head to the side to sniffle. The relief she felt was so overwhelming, she almost wanted to-
Welt resurfaced nearby, and when he saw Ren sitting up, he sighed in relief. "Good job, Wyndia. I knew you could do it."
Wyndia quickly tried to wipe the expression off her face. Not in front of others though. No, only in private.
Yes, this would be a private matter between only her and Ren.
Bakta surfaced next to him as well. "Alright, those Sahuagin are toast!" The tank cheered.
"Wait, all of them?!" Welt asked in surprise. "How did you do that?!"
"Oh, it wasn't me. L'Arc's down there dealing with them right now." Bakta pointed below at the water.
Wyndia looked down at the ocean, but couldn't see any of the fighting going on in the water. However, she heard someone yell something, and turned her head to see Therese on a rowboat nearby, blasting Sahuagins that surfaced around the debris with lightning magic.
She'd wondered why no monsters had attacked her while she was reviving Ren. Therese was grabbing the entire horde's attention.
The dog girl smiled happily.
She'd have to thank her friend after the wave was over.
"Hey, this is no time to stand or swim idly!" Finally, Farrie and Tersia arrived as well, rowing their own small rowboat along. "We have a Wave to conquer!"
"Oh." Wyndia started blushing at that.
"Alright." After drinking the potion, Ren looked more refreshed than before. "Let's just try to avoid having this boat get destroyed by that whale too. I'd rather not drown again anytime soon."
Filo dove underwater with Naofumi gripping her back with one hand. He looked around, seeing the sinking bodies of knights in full armor all around. Filo grabbed a couple and he also grabbed one before they quickly surfaced, throwing them onto a rowboat.
With L'Arc and Therese's arrival, saving those underwater had become easier to focus on. Those that could swim were finally able to rescue themselves. But there were still many knights left. And they'd been underwater for too long.
Naofumi gripped his arm tightly. He needed to find a way to get them out fast, or-
He blinked once in realization as a crazy idea sprung up in his mind. Would that even work though? He really should have tested the limits of skills more but there was nothing to lose and no time to ponder.
"Filo, dive below the knights! I'm going to try something!" Naofumi ordered her.
"Okay!~" Filo dived in again, and this time, they went much further down below.
Closeby, he could see L'Arc moving through the water. He was surprisingly agile, and fast as he swam. His scythe was reaping the monsters as easily as a field of wheat.
But more Sahuagins were appearing from the underwater rifts. They had to be quick.
"Meteor Shield!" Naofumi shouted the name of the skill underwater, hoping that it'd work.
Thankfully, it did.
A large blue spherical barrier expanded out from him and Filo. She then swam up, and the sinking, flailing knights slammed into its outer layer.
However, the barrier didn't break against them. Instead, they all clumped up together on top of it. Filo had to be careful with how she swam, as they could peel off to the side. But moments later, Filo resurfaced, carrying everyone out of the water on top of Naofumi's skill.
"Holy…" Dou-Lon breathed out in surprise.
"Fantastic thinking, Naofumi." Raphtalia gave Naofumi a wide smile.
'Holy crap. It actually worked!' Naofumi thought in disbelief.
From there, it was easy getting them onto the boats. Naofumi breathed a sigh of relief. He'd remembered using the skill before and how people who weren't his immediate party members were unable to pass through it.
He was glad that it'd worked here. Raphtalia, Dou-Lon, and the other adventurers started going back to the flagship now that the sailors, knights, and adventurers were rescued from the wreckage.
Looking at the flagship, he saw that Eclair and Melty were still handling all the monsters there.
Itsuki had his ballista aimed at the water. He was grimacing, however. "Naofumi, I can't find where the boss went!" He yelled over the water at the Shield Hero.
"Alright, I'll stay in the water in case it tries to attack again!" Naofumi shouted back. If they lost another ship to this boss...
Melty was moving the remaining five ships into a semi-circle formation. They could still hold off the waves of monsters. But the loss of any of them would make things significantly harder. Naofumi wasn't even sure he could defend against something that big. After all, the whale was far bigger than the Island bosses that he'd faced.
But he had to try anyway. He had the best chance out of anyone else there.
"Dive Filo!"
"Okaaay!~"
Filo dove underwater once more. Naofumi kept Meteor Shield active just in case. But as Filo swam through the red tainted water, she didn't react to the alcohol.
Either that meant she couldn't get drunk, or his shield was protecting her from the ruculu's effects.
… did she inherit his immunity to alcohol? No, no that's not how it works, it had to be the latter.
After a little while, Naofumi finally spotted it.
It was deep below, and its left flipper was missing, staining the water around it red. Had Itsuki's attack really done that much damage?
It was swimming away from them though. It looked like it was circling in preparation to surface under one of the ships above them again. Naofumi couldn't allow that to happen.
"Hate Reaction!"
The boss monster turned towards the two of them a few seconds later, a look of hatred in its eyes. With a loud underwater roar, it began moving towards them.
Holy crap, even with one of its flippers missing, it was still fast! And was that magic shooting out the gems on its sides?!
Naofumi gripped Filo's back tightly, then, a few seconds before impact, he kicked off her, launching himself towards the large whale. He just had to grab its attention, make it surface without destroying any of the ships, and-
CLAAAAAAAAANG!
An all too familiar noise, multiplied a hundredfold reverberated through the water. Naofumi felt the ocean around him stutter for a moment as the Interdimensional Whale slammed into his Meteor Shield at full force.
GWOOOOOOOOOOOO! The whale reeled back after slamming its horn into Naofumi's skill with the same success as tackling a mountain wall. A long crack ran down the length of it.
…
D-Did his skill just hold against a monster the size of a sperm whale…?
Naofumi couldn't believe his eyes but at the same time, he couldn't pass up such a golden opportunity as another thought came to his mind. Today was the day for crazy ideas, it seemed.
He dispelled Meteor Shield and swam forward, grabbing onto the end of the whale's cracked horn.
His HUD helpfully informed him that he'd successfully "grappled" the large whale.
The boss monster snapped back to reality, staring at the tiny figure holding on to its horn before bellowing in rage. It started swing itself around and around, trying to get Naofumi off. More spells fired out from its sides, hitting the Shield Hero, but they were no more successful in damaging him than its initial charge was. Naofumi continued to keep an iron grip on the horn.
And then, he started kicking with his feet, swimming up towards the surface. And the whale was pulled up along with him.
It was hard, like holding onto a raging bull in the middle of a lake. A large, angry, raging bull firing off random spells in all directions. Yet, somehow, Naofumi, human-sized Naofumi, was pulling the one hundred and fifty meter long monstrosity along behind him like a tow truck towing a car.
At that moment, he finally understood something about this world. He already knew it, saw it happen time and time again but his upbringing in another world made him deny it on an instinctual level. But now, it finally clicked.
Everything that he knew about physics was irrelevant here. Stats determined everything.
Filo helped out by attacking the monster's hurt left side underwater whenever it became too unruly. Had it had both fins, then it might have been able to pull Naofumi around, but between its lost fin, Filo constantly attacking the sensitive area, and Naofumi's incessant pulling, the monster couldn't do much but roar in pain and flail around firing off spells in an effort to free itself.
It was also only thanks to his weapon's help that Naofumi was able to hold his breath for as long as he did, but by the time the Shield Hero finally breached the surface, his lungs were burning from lack of air. He took in a deep breath, and immediately found that he was right in front of their fleet.
"Naofumi, did you find it?!" Ren noticed first and yelled from the rowboat that he and his party were on. Itsuki noticed the Shield Hero too and promptly turned his ballista around, scanning the sea around him with his eyes.
"I did more than that! Urgh...!" Naofumi strained, holding the still struggling monster beneath him.
"Wha-" Ren finally noticed the water bubbling wildly beneath Naofumi, and his eyes widened in disbelief. Did he just- "Everyone, prepare to fire your most powerful attacks!" He yelled for the entire fleet to hear.
Naofumi felt his arms going numb from how long he'd been restraining the boss, but, with one final heave, after giving everyone a moment to prepare, he pulled it up by its horn out of the water over him.
Immediately, ballistas all around on the ships began firing on it. Every mage there began launching spells. Harpoons were chucked, and arrows flew.
"Drifa Night Slash!" Rachel and Maya shouted together, slashing into the whale's stomach.
"Drifa Tornado!" Farrie and Tersia chanted, hitting the whale's chest.
"Sea Dragon's Roar!" Wyndia's Earth Vein spell appeared as well. Taking out a large chunk of the whale's right fin.
Raphtalia, who was currently manning a large ballista on the flagship, fired a bolt into the whale monster's neck. It did far more damage than the knights and adventurers manning other ballistae combined since her stats were far higher than theirs. After Naofumi's initial heave, he felt his grip starting to slip. He wouldn't be able to keep it still much longer.
Fortunately, he didn't have to.
"Wind Arrow!" Itsuki's next bolt glowed a bright green and fired below the whale's head. Seeing Naofumi struggling, he refused to allow this thing to dive and escape from them again.
The arrow, meant only to keep the large monster aloft, surprised him when it turned into a massive tornado of wind upon impact. Not only did it keep the large whale in the air, but visible bleeding gashes formed all over its pale gray skin. Naofumi finally let go of its horn and began kicking himself away from it. His arms felt nearly dead at his sides.
"Fueh! Itsuki! I never realized you could use a skill like that!" Rishia said in surprise next to him.
"Neither did I…" Itsuki said, still stunned at what he was witnessing. How was this happening? It didn't make any sense at all! Wind Arrow wasn't supposed to do that!
Oh well, he could try to figure it out later. If anything, this would definitely keep the monster aloft.
"Huahhh!" Filo jumped through the tornado, slamming her large foot into the underside of the whale's head. Reeling from every wound being inflicted on it, the large monster roared in pain and agony while helplessly flailing around in the air.
She jumped back as Ren steadied himself with the help of Welt and Bakta. Naofumi pulling the monster out of the water had rocked their boat no small amount. But, with his two party members making sure his feet were stable, he was finally ready. The monster, pocketed with ballista bolts, arrows, magic wounds, and the like, was ready to go down.
"Meteor Slash!" Ren's sword glowed blue, and he slashed forward, sending an ethereal blue wave of light at the whale.
The final attack connected.
And the whale split in two behind Naofumi.
As it let out a dying roar, Filo grabbed Naofumi out of the water, pulling him away right before the remains of the monster fell onto the ocean where he'd been swimming.
"Haaaa, thanks, Filo." Naofumi tiredly rubbed the side of her neck.
"You're welcome, daddy!" Filo said happily.
The large, fatty pieces of the monster stayed afloat. Filo landed lightly on the largest one, which was longer than any of the ships there. He rubbed her neck for a moment more, showing his daughter his appreciation for rescuing him.
"I… I guess that's it." Naofumi said in disbelief.
It was already over, and he'd only had to pull the monster out of the water once.
Thank goodness. He didn't think his arms could put up with that a second time.
"Woohooooooooo!" The adventurers, knights, and others on the ships began to cheer.
"Alright, way to go Sir Ren!" Bakta and Welt put their arms over the Sword Hero's shoulders.
"Can you please stop calling me sir?" He tiredly asked while hanging his head.
Wyndia turned away from the Sword Hero with a blush.
This had already been one hell of a nerve-wracking battle between pulling Ren off the mast to witnessing him almost drown. But seeing his final attack kill a monster large enough to destroy a ship…
"Psst. Now might be a good time to tell him." Farrie whispered into her ear.
"Wh-Wh-Whaaaaa-!?" Wyndia stuttered at that. Farrie giggled until Tersia slapped the back of her head.
"Wooooo!" Aksel cheered, pumping a fist high in the air. "Take that you stupid whale!"
Naofumi looked around as Filo transformed back into her little girl form next to him. It seemed like everyone was celebrating the whale's defeat.
"Naofumi, you did it!" Then, Raphtalia appeared in front of him, charging into him and giving him a big hug and kiss.
He accepted the affectionate gesture even though they were in front of everyone. He should have felt happy, yet… something wasn't right...
He was so lost in thought, he didn't even notice Ren and Itsuki had taken boats to travel to him until they were walking on the whale's fatty carcass.
"Naofumi!"
Naofumi turned. Ren and Itsuki's party members had come as well. It looked like Bakta and Aksel had started some wrestling match. It was likely over something stupid between the two.
"Guys. The Wave's supposed to be over after the boss is dead, right?" Naofumi asked for confirmation.
"Obviously," Ren replied and tensed up, holding his hand over the handle of his weapon. He immediately understood what the Shield Hero meant.
"Then…" Naofumi glanced around nervously.
Ren nodded. "Glass is coming."
Batka and Aksel's wrestling match instantly stopped. The rest of their party members went on edge.
The three Heroes looked around. But there was no sign of the raven-haired woman. Still, they kept their guard up, just in case.
"Melty!" Naofumi yelled over the water at her. "Make sure to deal with the remaining monsters! The Wave isn't over yet!" He yelled at the Second Princess.
"Alright!" Melty resumed giving orders, cutting off the premature celebrations that were going on.
After all, Naofumi was right. There were still Sahuagins swimming around in the water. As well as a potential enemy lurking somewhere…
…
"I don't get it. If she was here, wouldn't she have attacked us by now?" Ren asked after a moment.
"I don't know. Maybe she's being cautious." Naofumi shrugged. "Or-"
"So, you three really are Heroes…"
Ren, Itsuki, and Naofumi; as well as the members of their parties, turned towards the voice that'd spoken.
Standing opposite to them, further down the whale, was L'Arc and Therese.
"Therese…?" Wyndia looked puzzled. Why did her friend look so sad?
Therese turned her head away, unable to look at the dog girl.
"L'Arc, Therese, what are you doing here?" Naofumi asked confusedly. "You should fall back, the wave isn't over yet and we're expecting some dangerous company right about now-"
"So you were expecting us then?" L'Arc smiled sardonically and pulled out his scythe, which immediately changed forms.
Naofumi and the others recoiled in surprise. It didn't change size. It changed forms. The scythe he wielded now was black, and the blade connected to it was long. Longer than the other scythe that he'd been using.
'What the hell...'
"I'm sorry. But for the sake of our world…" L'Arc leveled the Vassal Scythe at the Cardinal Heroes while Therese's hair changed to crimson red as she began to draw power from one of her gems.
"Please die."
Author's Notes:
Wow, what a chapter!
I hope nobody's disappointed about the Rendia kiss not happening during CPR. I'm not exactly fond of that trope. Who'd want their first kiss to happen during a painful traumatizing experience… looks back at Chapter Thirty-Five… oh. Heheh…
Well anyway, I hope you all enjoyed it. I know I did. The next chapter ends the arc. So, obviously, this is the perfect spot to hang you all off a cliff.
Till Next Time
Allen