Ch.71The Sea Journey Is Dangerous (5)

“I-I can’t believe this……”

While the man who had confidently guaranteed victory was flustered, the awakened ones from the navy were already completely panicking, unable to do anything against the two boss-level monsters.

“…Is this really okay?”

Song Hayeon spoke with a worried expression, and Seoha beside her also frowned.

“We need to save them. Who can move across the water?”

“Th-that would be difficult. While we do have a few people who can move across water, are you suggesting fighting against that many monsters out at sea?”

The man’s words weren’t exactly wrong. It was certainly a difficult task.

However, if they did nothing, all the awakened ones over there would die helplessly. With that in mind, Seoha sighed deeply and snatched a spear from one of the hunters.

“I’ll go. Just make sure the monsters don’t leave this area.”

“What? It’s dangerous!”

“I’m used to this level of danger.”

Unable to break Seoha’s resolve as she strode toward the beach without hesitation, the man had no choice but to select a few people from his group to support her.

I approached Seoha and spoke to her.

“Think you can handle it?”

“…I’ll have to try somehow. It’ll be dangerous, do you want to come too?”

“Naval combat is one of my specialties.”

I couldn’t just stand back and watch when my only remaining sister was going to fight.

“What should I do?”

“…You two just stay here and hold the line.”

Leaving Gordon and Song Hayeon at the beach, we headed toward the boss monsters.

Whoosh.

Splash.

Plop.

“Using my water membrane, we can move underwater. Everyone get on.”

The mage who had been assigned to support us pulled up water to create a transportation sphere, but Seoha shook her head and stepped onto the water’s surface.

Splash.

“I can walk.”

Amazingly, Seoha was walking on water with perfect balance despite the waves, using her magical energy.

Seeing this, the speechless mage soon collected himself and asked me the same question.

“Then shall the rest of us use the water membrane…?”

“I don’t need it either.”

Whoosh.

I have my own methods. With a brief gesture from me, several undead monsters followed and began creating stepping stones in sequence.

“Ah. I-I see…”

In the end, the mage boarded the water membrane with his colleagues, wearing an ambiguous expression.

And so, we headed toward the location of the fierce battle with the boss, cutting through the monsters scattered all around.

Keeaak!

Keeek!

“Water Cannon!”

“Strong Bow!”

Ping!

Kwang!

Bang!

Honestly, I thought they wouldn’t be much help, but the hunters who followed us were surprisingly skilled in combat.

It seemed the claim about their proficiency in underwater combat wasn’t a lie after all.

However, Seoha’s performance at the front, clearing the path, was so impressive that the hunters’ skills barely registered.

Bang!

Boom!

BOOM!

Keeaak!

“Crescent Strike.”

Slash!

SWOOSH—!

Even though she was using a borrowed spear, anyone could see how outstanding her skills were.

The speed of her spear thrusts was so fast it was nearly invisible, and each strike precisely pierced through the enemy’s body.

When she finally used a skill and swung the spear widely, the sea in front of her split deeply for a moment.

‘…She’s really strong.’

Honestly, this was the first time I’d seen her fight in person, so I was quite surprised.

I had seen videos before, but the true power of high-rank hunters can’t be accurately gauged from footage alone.

Frankly, even I would likely be torn apart in an instant if I were to fight Seoha at close range, so there wasn’t much more to explain.

I could understand why Helena had praised her so highly.

“We’re almost there. Everyone stay alert.”

Swoosh!

Boom!

Thud!

We weren’t far from the boss now. The continuous roaring sounds pierced our ears, and the fierce sound of water cutting through the surface came from all directions.

‘They seem to be holding on somehow…’

The ship was flipped on its side and on the verge of sinking, but being a skilled unit, the awakened ones were somehow still facing off against the boss.

BOOM!

SPLASH!

“AAAAARGH!”

But the situation was clearly not good.

The unit’s formation had already collapsed, and they couldn’t inflict proper damage on their opponents due to their inability to cooperate effectively.

“They seem to have been completely split into two groups.”

The Great Octopus and the dungeon boss that resembled a giant eel.

Facing these two massive monsters, Seoha quickly made a decision and gave instructions.

“I’ll handle the boss somehow.”

“A-alone? Is that possible?”

“So please draw the attention of the other one. There’s no need to fight recklessly.”

Leaving only those words, Seoha charged toward the boss without looking back.

Kuooo.

Slash!

SLASH!

The Great Octopus, stimulated by her pure magical energy, attacked by extending its tentacles, but they were all torn to shreds by Seoha’s activated skill, causing it to emit a painful groan.

If there was a time to drop them, it was now.

“Go attack.”

[Keek.]

[Kiheaak!]

Giant jellyfish, fish-men, sea lions, and more. After sending all the undead monsters I had created to charge, I continued to make stepping stones with the few I had left and began to lure the Great Octopus.

Thud!

THUD!

Tak.

“Book of Death.”

Splash!

Slash!

Now that I had separated the opponent from the battlefield to some extent, it was time for me to do what I needed to do.

“Extraction. Materialization.”

The symbol and treasure of the Sky Palace that I had used in the previous fight with Jackson.

“Ring of the Challenger.”

Whoosh.

Flash—!

ZING!

Glowing spike marks were engraved on both the Great Octopus’s head and my wrist.

With this, neither of us could leave this place until the battle was decided.

KUOOO!

The Great Octopus roared in anger and swung several tentacles, but I easily avoided the attacks by placing the undead at wide intervals and using them as stepping stones.

Whish!

Splash!

SPLASH!

The tentacles struck the innocent water surface, and the octopus continued its attacks with increasing fury.

Everything had gone smoothly so far, but the problem was what came next.

‘I don’t have a good way to capture it.’

The opponent was, after all, an A4-rank large boss monster. It was by no means an easy enemy.

In contrast, the means I could utilize now were extremely limited.

‘Of course, there are undead skilled in underwater combat, but…’

With my current level, it’s honestly burdensome to summon them. Not being able to use the legendary sword I possessed was truly lamentable.

Whish!

SPLASH!

As I continued to avoid attacks while pondering, I finally realized there was no other choice and opened the Book of Death again to begin chanting.

Whoosh.

“Extraction.”

Page fifteen.

What was contained there was an ancient artifact inscribed with a spell that could summon and control water spirits.

“Materialization.”

Tok.

To be honest, this was half a gamble.

From the beginning, I am a necromancer, a being who spreads death everywhere, and thus am hated by spirits.

Previously, I had controlled summoned spirits by overwhelming them with absolute power, but now it was impossible for me to do the same.

Therefore, even if I summoned a spirit, it was uncertain whether I could properly control it.

Whoosh.

“Come forth.”

As I chanted, transparent droplets began to seep out from the blue spirit stone.

Tok.

Drip.

The water that had been dripping one drop at a time soon explosively increased in volume, and the water that gushed out like an eruption began to take the form of a beautiful woman.

Watching this, I softly called out the name of the summoned spirit.

“Selenia.”

– ……

Summoned Selenia tilted her head as she looked at me, and then clapped her hands once and muttered in a bright voice.

– Has the apostle of calamity finally died and a new master appeared? Who are you?

“I’m sorry to disappoint you. I’m still very much alive and well.”

– Well, I actually knew that at first glance.

Selenia circled around me, carefully examining every inch of my body.

– This… the situation is quite peculiar, isn’t it?

This was the main point. I raised the artifact and pointed at the Great Octopus in front.

“I’d like you to catch that.”

– Heh. Have you become so weak that you can’t handle such a lowly creature? You, the tyrant?

Selenia flashed a meaningful smile for a moment. Then, with a slight grin, she uttered words of agreement.

– Alright. I’ll help you.

“…Really?”

I was honestly surprised. I hadn’t expected her to agree so easily. Selenia lifted the surrounding water into the air and said to me:

– Your weakened state has reduced your unpleasant aura. And I’m in a good mood since it’s been a while since I’ve been out.

And then, as if this was the real point, she immediately continued:

– But I must receive compensation in return. I’ve always ignored it when forced, but that’s the rule.

Indeed, this ancient artifact seemed to have a constraint that required the user to pay a price to the other party depending on their ability.

I reluctantly nodded and said:

“If you’re thinking of cheating me, I’ll just overturn everything.”

– Is that something you should be saying?

As Selenia expressed her bewilderment, the Great Octopus’s tentacles suddenly rushed toward her.

Whish!

SLASH!

However, for some reason, they stopped right in front of Selenia without touching her. Pure, completely refined magical energy was restraining the opponent.

Seeing this, Selenia gave a small sneer and raised her hand toward the Great Octopus, opening her mouth.

“It seems I need to instill some basic manners in you.”

What the octopus saw next was countless spears of water filling the void.