episode_0282

With the assault of the fishing boat fleet, the battle grew even fiercer.

Boats sped through the water, kicking up spray. The Violets standing on them had eyes blazing with the fire of vengeance.

“The sacrifice of Fishing Boat No. 4! It won’t be in vain!” “There will be no more sinking!”

Their resolve was short-lived. As Fleet No. 5 advanced, firing its machine gun, it was hit by the fusion entity’s main cannon and shattered into pieces. “No! It’s sinking! Ugh!”

Seawater poured down on the Violets, who were dumbfounded by the unexpected explosion, as if mocking them. No. 1, barely regaining her composure, spoke. “…Let’s avenge Fleet No. 5 as well!” “Waaah!”

At No. 1’s voice, the rubber boat formation responded with a unified shout. “We’ll arrive soon!”

Riding the rough waves, the rubber boats glided through the water, rushing towards the fusion entity’s warship. They advanced fearlessly into the pouring gunfire.

Quite a few rubber boats were punctured and sank, and many of them fell into the water, but they paid no heed. The Violets wearing life jackets had many options. “Should we swim there?” “No, just reverse-generate! Deploy from on top of the ship!”

Flashes of light swept across the sea, and cannon fire continuously erupted. The fusion entity mobilized all its remaining firepower to resist. But it was impossible to stop the endlessly surging wave of boats. Even with shells savagely whizzing over their heads, the Violets remained calm.

“Get down!” “Prepare to breach!” As the command from headquarters came down, the Violets aimed their respective weapons and prepared to leap.

The fusion entity struggled to drive away the approaching boats, but the wave of rubber boats overwhelmed all means it could mobilize. One by one, dozens of small daggers aimed for the monster’s core.

Tentacles shot up from the water, covering the boats, and ghoul sailors poured gunfire upon them. The Violets simply dodged with agile movements or used their bodies to absorb the hits. Each time a spear or sword traced an arc, tentacles were severed, and black blood stained the sea.

“Ugh! Look at its eyes! It’s disgusting!” “Let’s burst it quickly!”

The rubber boats finally reached the ship, and the Violets swiftly leaped aboard. As they climbed the hull and reached the deck, clicking pincers awaited them. -Clang! Clang! “Melee combat initiated!”

The monsters coexisting with the fusion entity weren’t just ghouls. Crab-like monster pincers swung, obstructing their boarding. The ship’s tentacles also tried to knock off or capture and attack these unpleasant intruders. -Clang!

“Stab it properly! Its carapace is thicker than I thought!” As No. 3691 raised her shield to block a pincer attack, the Violet behind her pulled the trigger. A crackling sound was heard, and a crossbow bolt lodged itself in the crab monster’s carapace. Behind the falling monster, a burning orb flew into the new wave of approaching enemies and exploded. As a red rapier was swung at the ghouls, who were flailing and gripping axes and bayonets, flames shot up, granting them rest.

“It must be because they live in water. Fire magic works well!” “I just heard the Flaming Blade talking! It likes seafood!” “Alright!”

As the Violets boarded the ship one by one, the ship was quickly covered with both the Violets who had climbed aboard and those who had repeatedly regenerated. With the symbiotic monsters wiped out and even its tentacles hacked to pieces by axes, the fusion entity writhed in fear.

“That thing is struggling not to die! Hold on tight!” “Koo-oooo-oooo!” The body, which appeared to be a head protruding from the bridge side, thrashed violently. The deck, covered in slime and seawater, was slippery, and some Violets fell into the water. Annoyed, a Marine Violet shouted to headquarters.

“Ugh, this is annoying! I’ll use a Vision Memory Chip here!” “Permission granted!”

The next moment, over ten staffs aimed at the monster’s head. -Sizzle! A volley of fusion rays melted the fusion entity’s head. The surrounding water evaporated from the heat, covering the ship in steam. After the steam cleared, there was a gaping hole where the head had been, large enough for a person to enter.

“Didn’t we get it?” “No, I can still feel its magic! And its tentacles are still alive.” The Violets looked at each other, then bravely leaped into the massive hole in the hull without a second of hesitation. In the damp darkness, a faint red glow greeted them.

“Breach team, entering! Shields first!” “Switch to shotguns and one-handed swords! All-around vigilance!”

Inside, it was humid and dark. An unknown liquid squelched beneath their feet, and a buzzing sound filled their ears. The Violets advanced, following the faint red light flickering above them. They could feel it instinctively. The flow of ether pointed in one direction.

“Ugh, gross! It’s disgusting! There’s a weird smell! It feels awful!” “Bear with it and go down! Breathe through your mouth!!”

Here and there, ghouls that seemed integrated with the walls thrashed and swung their arms. Monsters slightly smaller than those they had faced on deck also desperately rushed to block the Violets. The girls approached, smashing every charging enemy with shotgun blasts, tearing them apart with axes, and cutting them down with swords.

-Crunch! No. 1881 grumbled as she smashed through the fleshy wall blocking the passage. “If I’d known this, I wouldn’t have come in! Can’t we just blast it with magic?” No. 889 replied, clearing the debris. “You saw it earlier! The outer armor is tough, so magic doesn’t work. We don’t know the exact location of its organs.”

The breach team had two roles. One was demolition. If they reached the fusion entity’s location, the Violets intended to directly destroy its heart with bombs and magic. Even if this method didn’t work, it wouldn’t be a big problem. Because if they failed, the breach team had another role.

After wandering through the cramped interior of the ship for a long time, the breach team reached their objective. “That’s the core, right? Isn’t that what we were looking for?”

In the vast internal space, a colossal heart was pulsating. It was a grotesque form, a mixture of a writhing creature’s heart and the ship’s machinery. They held their breath for a moment. For the final blow. “I can feel its magic! Let’s finish it off!”

As they approached the core with bombs in hand, the heart began to writhe violently. “It’s moving!”

Eyeballs emerged from the writhing core. Dozens of small eyes glared at the paused Violets. Among the eyeballs, a large, yellow, human-sized eye popped out and blinked a few times. Its gaze fell upon the bomb. Huh, wait a minute—

A shockwave was emitted from the fusion entity’s eye. “Kueeek!” “Ughyaaaat!” The Violets were sent flying with their shields by the close-range shockwave, crashing into the wall. No. 561 quickly got up, grabbed the bomb, and charged. “I’ll get it! Long live Violet independence!”

Just as she was about to gloriously explode, the fusion entity’s heart swiftly extended a tentacle from its body and slammed No. 561. “Oh, no!” -Boom! “Magic! Prepare magic!”

Though bewildered by her own failed explosion, No. 2981 took out her staff and aimed. Sensing the converging magical power, the fusion entity deployed a shield. Flashes collided. High-temperature heat swept through the narrow engine room.

“We…we got it, right?” No. 2981, charred black from the explosion, raised her head. She could feel that the rest of the breach team had either fainted or died. Through her blurred vision, she could still see the fusion entity’s heart writhing. No. 2981 cried out with exasperation.

“Damn it! You got the coordinates, right? Kill it! Broken Arrow!”

Inside the warship, staffs were aimed at the location where their living presences were detected. The external magic team Violets, waiting on deck, intended to consecutively fire fusion rays at the location where their own presences were detected. Just like drilling through the ground, if they concentrated their magical power on one spot and continuously fired multiple rays, there was a high possibility it would penetrate.

Multiple converging fusion rays pierced the floor and struck the core. -CRASH! The breach team fulfilled their role as human coordinates and vanished. The ship shook violently, then the fusion entity burst through the ceiling and revealed itself outside. It was charred black.

“Damn it! It was a glancing blow!” “Prepare the next fusion ray!”

Regardless, the creature was finished now. In that state, it was surely believed to be killable. The waiting Violets concentrated, preparing new magic. Aim, mana concentration, memory chip usage and fire— Nothing happened.

“Ah, it’s gone! The Vision Memory Chips!” A variable occurred: they ran out of fusion rays. The Violets frantically searched their internal network. The memory chip storage was filled only with low-grade spells.

“Where did all the magic go?” “While fighting earlier…” It was belatedly revealed that they had recklessly poured high-firepower magic while attacking the warship.

Taking advantage of the opening, the fusion entity’s heart writhed, attempting to escape into the sea. Various spells and gunfire concentrated on the heart that had emerged from the ship, but the heart stubbornly endured. “It’s disgustingly tough!”

The Violets secretly felt it was a shame. The battle was a points victory, but if they left the fusion entity alive here, it might become an even stronger monster and attack passersby. Above all, after such a sacrifice, losing it now would hurt their pride.

“It’s escaping into the water! Get it!” The fusion entity now tried to flee into the water, dragging the Violets along. It was too late. A new ship rushed alongside the warship, which had lost its core.

“Where do you think you’re going?!” A gunner Violet grabbed the handle of the harpoon cannon. Following procedure, as she channeled mana as per training, the blade of the massive harpoon, resembling a shark’s tooth, glowed with red magic.

“Harpoon cannon! Fire! Quickly!” -Thwack! The colossal harpoon cut through the water’s surface and struck the fusion entity. The monster, which had been trying to flee underwater, was pulled back to the surface. A screeching cry. The harpoon cannon’s wire sparked as it pulled taut. The smokestack of the whaling ship, its engine reversed, belched black smoke.

“We have to kill it quickly!” The Violets brought out their last resort. The most powerful technique they could use.

“Headquarters to all units. Permission to use Hand of Destiny is granted!”

While the whaling ship and the fusion entity grappled, No. 2501, standing on the deck of the ownerless warship, aimed a gauntlet that glowed with a brilliant golden light. “Beware our power! Violet Beam!”

To unleash its full power, the magical energy of four thousand Violets, charged by reverse-generating dormant Violets, gathered in the palm of the gauntlet. A profound sense of exhaustion, as if life itself was being drained away. In an instant, the water surface parted, and a colossal golden beam of light struck the fusion entity. -WHOOSH!

The surrounding boats rocked from the impact, and the closest whaling ship was lifted by the shock and pushed backward. In the place where the light vanished, there was nothing. A brief silence, the sound of waves temporarily filling the void.

“We won!” “Whoa-aah!” The quiet sea was filled with shouts.

**

After the battle, we Violets recovered the ship and departed for the harbor. Following the industry custom where the hunter who severed the monster’s breath had the right of decision, the Great War-era warship, which had been the fusion entity, became my trophy.

“Ugh! It stinks!” “Search thoroughly, there might be treasure!” While the Violets finally rummaged through the salvaged warship’s wreckage, searching for anything valuable, the research vessel personnel showered them with astonished questions.

“How did you hunt that fusion entity? Where was that reserve force?” “We used a valuable artifact weapon. The rest are clan secrets. I cannot say.” Each time, I vaguely brushed them off. It was fortunate that they hadn’t seen much, as they were fleeing far away.

“Did you really not see any fragments of the fusion entity?” “That ship! Are you planning to sell it?” Besides the research vessel personnel, many others were interested in the ship we had brought, as fusion entities themselves were rarer than expected.

“I’ll sell it once all the trophies are recovered. Oh, and…” I shouldn’t forget to demand more money from the academy. “Pay more.” “Pardon? What do you mean by that…?” “The appearance of a high-risk large monster was not in the contract. You remember, don’t you? If we hadn’t stopped it, that thing would have attacked this ship.” The skull-masked Violet held out a broad palm to the academy professor. It was a meaning even a fool could understand. Money, give us lots of money!

“Still, this amount is a bit…” “You don’t want to? Huh?” “W-we’ll give it to you!” Ding, went a clear bell sound. The requested money was deposited.

“Good, then our work here is done.” As they left the research vessel, the students’ gazes were unusual. Was this awe?

“Today’s work is done!” The breach team Violets who had gone inside the warship and returned mumbled. “I want to wash!” Today’s work was fun, but tiring. “We earned a lot, so let’s focus on our studies for a while!”

After completing such a difficult task, a sense of accomplishment and emptiness came over them simultaneously. I should probably suspend Violet Navy operations for a while. We’ve done too much. There probably won’t be another big job like this.

Thinking that, I returned home, but another large request was waiting for us. “I didn’t expect them to contact you directly like this. They specifically pointed to you, Boss-nim.” The employment agency broker said with a slightly surprised expression. I doubted my ears and asked again. “So, Manager Leslie, who was the contact from?” Manager Leslie replied. “Eckhart University.”

The Violets, intrigued by the familiar name, whispered amongst themselves. The sea seemed to have no intention of letting me go for a while. “Surely, it’s not a graduate student rescue mission?”