Chapter 11. Summer and the Sea (9)

I was scared when Ria was giving me a ride, but now it’s much more intense.

The speed itself was similar, but the way she was randomly turning and tilting everywhere was immense.

When we were playing, I could at least protest a little to Ria, but now I can’t at all. The situation is what it is.

It’s scary.

But that doesn’t mean I’m worried.

I knew that Ria’s actions were ultimately to protect me.

…However, still.

“Why aren’t we wearing life vests?”

“Ah, you’re right.”

That’s right.

We weren’t riding with safety equipment like yesterday. Either Ria had forgotten for a moment because she was too excited, or I had fallen for Ria’s provocation and we hadn’t thought of it.

“Hmm, hold on tight.”

Ria said that as if she had nothing else to say.

I gritted my teeth and hugged Ria’s waist tighter with the hand not holding the gun.

It would be absurd to be conscious of our bodies touching in just swimsuits now- but even in this situation, I guess I still had the composure to be a little embarrassed about such things.

That was still a good thing.

The gun inside the motorcycle was definitely useful.

My holy power doesn’t work properly on beings closer to living creatures than monsters. Although they struggled for a moment as their body’s mana disappeared, that was it, and they eventually sprang back towards us.

In that case, it’s better to shoot them with a bullet and make them fall from the start rather than wasting my strength by using holy power unnecessarily.

“…Hick!?”

The octopus-leg-like worms with suckers all over the place were monstrously disgusting, but as time went on, the variety of monsters also increased.

The problem is that most of that ‘variety’ was limited to ‘long and wriggling things.’

In Lovecraftian cosmic horror, monsters from space often took shapes inspired by marine animals. This is probably because of the perception that there are many ‘bizarrely shaped things that are not usually seen.’ Lovecraft also had a fear of sea creatures.

They say the deep sea is an unknown territory for humanity-

“How are earthworms an unknown territory!?”

I shouted as I looked at a giant earthworm that had been shot in the head, split open, and was spraying indescribable bodily fluids. Or rather, I wasn’t even sure if it was really an earthworm. It might be a creature I’m seeing for the first time. However, it wasn’t like it was a creature that couldn’t exist on Earth.

We weren’t the only ones flying over the sea. There were my friends who had been flying with us since earlier, and hunters belonging to this facility who were quickly approaching us after observing the situation.

“The main body!”

As we dodged here and there and approached the giant octopus legs that had risen high into the sky, Lee Si-yoon shouted.

“Dabi said there’s a main body! Dabi said so!”

Seeing Lee Si-yoon shout like that, I looked towards Dabi.

Dabi didn’t seem as scared as I was. She had one arm around Lee Si-yoon’s waist and was extending her other hand, preparing magic.

It wasn’t a flashy and huge magic circle like those used by famous and powerful mages. It was a much simpler and smaller magic circle, smaller than her palm.

“So, do you have any ideas!?”

As soon as Ria shouted, she immediately turned the motorcycle handlebars and dodged sideways.

Lee Si-yoon also dodged in the opposite direction of us, and at the same time, a loud sound like “Thump!” was heard.

No, can water splashing make a sound like that?

Even as I was hit by the sea water pouring down like rain, I tried not to close my eyes and held up my gun. I fired a few shots rapidly, “Bang bang bang,” but only a tiny stream of blood came out, and it had no effect.

The octopus legs rose again. Were they preparing for the next attack?

“She said it would reveal its main body!”

Lee Si-yoon shouted again.

“Then do it!”

Ria skillfully turned the handlebars and shouted as she approached Lee Si-yoon. Her sword flashed a few times, and the giant earthworms and octopus legs were cut in half and fell.

“Dabi can’t do it.”

Lee Si-yoon said.

“She said it requires very strong mana.”

“Strong mana.”

Ria and I looked at Dabi simultaneously. Dabi had a slightly stiff expression, still holding a magic circle in her hand. A magic circle with unknown characters floating on it.

“Alright, we’ll take the lead.”

Ria immediately grasped the situation.

I don’t know Dabi’s mana level, but it means it’s not as much as Gloria or Han Yu-ri. Or perhaps all three of them, or even more, are needed.

I don’t underestimate Lee Si-yoon’s combat abilities. However, in the novel, Lee Si-yoon’s swordsmanship was inferior to Ria’s until he grew.

Moreover, Dabi, sitting behind Lee Si-yoon, had her eyes closed and was concentrating on something else.

Ria sharply turned the handlebars, and I clung to her back, trying not to scream. The sea water was slipperier than I expected, causing my hips to sway a little, and most importantly, the distance between Ria and me kept trying to widen.

…It could be considered a stroke of luck that I didn’t drop the gun I was holding in my other hand.

*

The monsters that leaped out of the sea like flying fish became much easier to control after the number of people increased. As the number of targets to attack increased, the number swarming in one place decreased significantly.

However, the monster’s main body- or rather, that suspected tentacle, was still persistently targeting us.

“Ah, really!”

By the way, the conversation between Han Yu-ri and Gloria that I heard as we approached was like this.

“Why do I have to fight while being covered in the bodily fluids of a monster I don’t even know!? And not on Si-yoon-nim’s back, but on another woman’s exposed back!”

“Do you think anyone wants to do this!? I’ll just drop you!”

Hmm.

They’re bickering much more than Ria and I.

Even so, seeing the two mages, who were only two people, complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses and fight, both of them could be called professionals.

No, if you think about it, only Han Yu-ri is the professional.

“Yu-ri, Gloria!”

But even those two had their faces light up when they heard Lee Si-yoon’s voice.

“Si-yoon-ah!”

“You’ve come to save us, Prince!”

Pfft.

Ria and I burst out laughing at the same time. Lee Si-yoon’s face turned bright red, but he knew the situation and immediately approached the two.

Alright, let’s postpone the teasing until after everything is over.

Ria circled around the two teams, fending off those approaching us. I also shot down those flying from afar, and the hunter team, thinking we were aiming for something, drew the enemy’s attention by fighting more fiercely from a distance.

Gloria looked at the magic circle Dabi had formed in her hand and immediately understood what Dabi wanted to say.

“So that’s how it is.”

Unlike the banter they had just moments ago, upon seeing the magic circle Dabi showed, she seemed to recognize it immediately. Han Yu-ri’s expression also became a little subtle. Whether she properly recognized the shape of the magic circle or not, she was still skilled as a promising famous hunter.

Gloria gently placed her hand over Dabi’s hand.

And then-

“…!”

Bright light poured onto the magic circle, to the extent that Han Yu-ri, who was in front of Gloria, and Lee Si-yoon, who was watching the scene, showed surprised expressions.

It was different from the holy power I use. The clear green light clearly showed that it was not natural.

The magic circle in Dabi’s hand grew significantly larger. It looked like zooming in on an image on a smartphone or computer.

And, on the enlarged magic circle, unknown characters appeared more and more-

“Can we really fight fairly if we just stay in the water?”

Gloria said with a smile.

Hmm.

When Dabi said there was a way to reveal the main body, I thought it would be something that would simply show the monster’s appearance.

But that wasn’t it.

Around the place where those giant tentacles were, as they slowly rose to swing towards us one more time, small whirlpools began to form.

And as time passed, the whirlpools slowly grew larger, and the water surface at the center slowly lowered.

“…Huh.”

Ria exclaimed in admiration.

That’s right.

Dabi’s ‘method for revealing the monster’s main body’ was literally to remove the water above it.

To create a giant whirlpool and reveal the true form of what was beneath it.

“…”

Could Gloria do something like this in the original work? No, well, since Gloria could create ice strong enough that a person wouldn’t break it just by standing on it, it didn’t seem entirely impossible-

“… …Huh.”

However, my thoughts were cut off by a sound similar to the one Ria made.

What was lurking beneath that water was something that truly deserved the name ‘cosmic horror.’

It basically resembled a human. Except for the giant barnacle-like things attached to various parts of its skin.

And if it weren’t for those giant octopus legs attached to the back of its head like hair.

It might have had whiskers, but-

“Hick.”

Realizing its body had been revealed, it slowly began to rise from its spot.

Every single one of those whiskers was alive.

Those sea creatures that had been flying towards us.

They were its ‘whiskers.’

Whether they had taken root there or not, the places where they had detached were riddled with holes.

“Can I faint?”

“Please bear with it a little.”

Ria replied to my serious question as if it were absurd.