The ship groaned. We were in perfect view from the beach, but too far for anyone to attempt to jump. Swimming away was probably the worst thing one could do in that situation.
After the ship came to a halt, a deafening, resonating noise filled the air. It made your eyes and teeth vibrate so strongly that you would think they were falling out. Your eardrums wouldn't quite burst, but it felt as if your entire body was getting attacked by some spell or magical weapon.
The sound went on for at least thirty seconds, and all we could do was cover our ears and wait for it to stop. I glanced into the air where Liora and the other two were, and I saw all three of them falling through the air.
Most of the people on the ship started to puke, not being able to handle the sound.
"### #### ### ## ###### ######?"
From beneath the water, a colossal leviathan rose. It swam in the air as if it hadn't left the water in the first place. Its glowing, ribbon-like fins shuddered. At first, I believed it to be the same leviathan I'd seen before. But it was definitely different.
Of course, the other leviathan I 'saw,' I could barely get a glimpse at. That one was much closer to a humanoid of sorts. The one in front of me was most certainly a monster.
Instead of teeth, thousands of arms wiggled and clawed at the air. The monster had no eyes, and though it resembled a serpent, there were no scales covering its skin.
And most notably, I could look at it. Everyone could look at it. That was both a good and a bad thing, however. The previous leviathan I'd met had caused me the first ever pain in my life, a searing headache. This one was completely fine... well, if you could call this 'fine.'
The people went into a panic, screaming "Monster! Monster! Someone save us!"
It was terrible. But I was calm. Why? Because this was no saint. This was no deity. It was just a monster. If I hadn't met the saint once before, I might've been fooled by the sight.
Thankfully, the leviathan only seemed partially summoned. It was restrained there, in the air, and couldn't move from its spot.
"Marielle! Prince! Get up!"
They looked at me in fear.
"What's the matter with you two? Get up!"
"Lin, it's useless. The terrible devil, Poseidon, has appeared!" Prince cried.
"Poseidon!? This isn't some stupid demon, you idiot! It's just a monster, we can kill it!"
"Are you insane? How exactly do you plan on killing that thing!?" Marielle said.
"Well..."
"Marielle! Get over here, I'll protect you guys!" The Crown Prince shouted.
The duke and his wife were standing beside the prince. He'd drawn his sword, and a group of people were surrounding him, hoping for protection.
"Go ahead, he's surely strong enough," I assured.
"No! I'll help you!"
Stubborn!
"Prince, go wait with your brother. Marielle's coming with me."
"What!? Why her?"
"...What're you going to do? No offense," I said.
He seemed a little hurt, but ran to his brother regardless.
"Marielle, what are you doing!? Get over here already!"
She ignored the Crown Prince.
He never gives up, does he?
"Here, take this!" I said, pulling out the sword from within my hat. "You can use this, right?"
"Of course I can!" she said, snatching it. "What's the plan?"
"I don't know where that bastard Malachai ran off to, but we need to stop the people below deck before they finish the ritual."
She nodded, and we ran off below deck. The ship groaned and splintered and I nearly lost my balance running down the stairs. We spotted the group of cultists. They were around a glowing summoning circle, chanting.
"Coda o'r dyfnder, coda o'r tywyllwch, coda, coda, coda o'r môr," they repeated over and over.
It reminds me of the chants I use to cast spells...
Marielle held me back. "Let me handle this, it's not like you can do much down here, anyway."
Handle them all? I don't know...
She dashed forwards, alerting the cultists. The ones that weren't chanting moved to attack her. She effortlessly took on the crowd, striking them down one by one, but there were too many. The summoning circle grew brighter and brighter.
"O'r dyfnderoedd anghofiedig, o'r llyncu tragwyddol, tyrd atom, tyrd atom, tyrd atom!"
"Marielle, we're out of time!"
She leapt over the ones crowding her and started to hack and slash at the ones in the circle. It was too late though, and even after they were all down, the summoning circle stayed there, glowing.
The ship shook, and another roar from the leviathan sounded throughout the air.
"Damn it! Where is that fucking bastard evil bitch!" Marielle shrieked, stomping on the floor in rage.
"Marielle! We have to go!"
We ran above deck. The leviathan's roars got quieter and quieter, and we watched as it flew away from the ship.
"We're saved! We're saved!" people cried.
"No, it's headed towards shore!"
The leviathan had only grown larger in the time since it was summoned. I grabbed my broom and looked at Marielle and Prince.
"I can only fit one of you," I said.
"Take Marielle, there's nothing I can do when we get on shore!"
But your caretaker...!
"But—"
"Just take the stupid prince and teach me the enchant!"
"What? There's no point, you're not a witch—"
"I said just tell me!"
I said the enchant. Marielle ran over to grab a broom and recited it. The broom started to glow, and she began to float.
"What!? You're a witch!?"
"Not exactly... does this really matter right now!? We have to go!"
"...Can you bring the prince?"
"Isn't he going with you?"
"The other prince..."
"NO!"
The two of us flew off the ship, the younger prince riding behind me like before. Soon, we spotted Liora, Jezebel, and Ahab. They were already flying towards shore.
"Linnie! I knew you'd make it. And Mari... I didn't know you could cast magic!"
"I didn't either..." I muttered. "Jezebel, Ahab, what are you thinking?"
I needed the 'wisdom' of actual, experienced magics.
"Well, we could certainly whittle down the thing, but it's definitely going to wreak havoc. It may even destroy up to half of the city!"
"There isn't any spell that can do enough damage!?"
"Not really! There are a few explosion spells that might, but we're not knowledgeable in that area. Not to mention the mana cost! We'd collapse before we could kill it! Explosion spells are way too inefficient in a scenario like this!"
An idea sprouted in my mind.
"Marielle, you're a witch, are you not?"
"Are you asking if I can help with magic? I don't know any besides what you just taught me."
"But if I teach you another spell, you'll be able to cast it?"
"Enchantments are easy since it's mostly just words doing the work, I can't promise I can replicate a real spell."
"No, that part is taken care of!"
We finally arrived back to land. The citizens were screaming and running for their lives, and the leviathan's tendrils were crushing people and buildings alike.
"Prince! We could use backup right now!"
"CAAAAAREETAAAKKEEERRR!!!!!!!" the prince screamed.
Something collided with the leviathan's head. I looked closer and saw Thalia, the prince's caretaker, mounted on the creature.
"Young Master! I was looking for you everywhere! Get off that broom right now, that's far too dangerous!"
"Caretaker! Can you distract the monster so it stops destroying the city!?"
"But—I need to protect you!"
"Caretaker, this is an order! You must do what I ask!"
"I do not follow your orders! I follow your father's! And his order was to protect you!"
"Not anymore, Caretaker!"
She looked distressed, but nodded. She twisted out of the leviathan's skull and fell to the beach. She ran down shore, away from the rest of the city. The distraction worked, and the leviathan chased after her.
"Over there, on that cliff! That's the perfect angle!"
Who is that? Why are they sitting so calmly at the edge of the cliff amidst all this chaos?
"Sir, you have to evacuate!" I called down.
We landed and I got a closer look. Marielle had noticed before I did, though, and sprinted at him with her sword drawn.
"Malachai! I'll kill you!"
The man barely moved. He didn't even turn around, but simply grabbed her blade, stopping her swing.
"Marielle... why do you harbor such hatred in your heart for me?"
"You are a scourge to my people! A pathetic snake!"
"I care about the people of Corvailles even more than you do. Or your father, for that matter."
"And you'd kill them all to prove your love? Are you insane!? We loved you! We treated you like family!"
"Insane? I simply made a mistake. A mistake I'll regret for the rest of my life."
"A mistake!? Is that what you call this!? You won't be 'regretting' it for much longer!"
"Ahaha... oh, Saint Pischt, why have you forsaken me? You allowed me to fall for the horrific lies of the Devil Poseidon, and now Corvailles will fall. I suppose it was Poseidon, then, who'd given me these powers in the first place. I'm such a fool..."
In front of our eyes, he fell backwards into a puddle, vanishing.
"How'd he do that...!?" Liora said in awe.
He reappeared on the beach beneath us, right behind the unknowing Thalia. He kicked her leg in, causing her to stumble into the sand.
"Caretaker!"
She swung at him, quick to adapt to her situation. She and Malachai fought, and the leviathan turned its attention back to the city.
"Damn it, he's going to beat her, isn't he?" Ahab groaned.
"Can't one of you go help her?" I asked.
"Didn't you feel it? His blessing—or one of them, at least—is mana disruption. A more adept wizard would be able to stabilize their mana, but we've never fought such a foe."
"That sort of thing exists!? Then what about his teleporting? Was that also a blessing?"
"Definitely. The man is not a wizard. You were right, his blessings are unpredictable. We'd need a knight to fight him at least..."
A knight...!?
"Who needs a knight?"
Ahab turned around, surprised, and faced a devastating punch to the gut. It was the Crown Prince. Somehow, he'd appeared right beside us without anyone realizing.
"Brother! What are you doing!?"
"Calm down, Sylven, I'm saving you and Marielle from these vagrants of course!"
"They're not vagrants! They're magics of the tower! And that's Lin, you already know him!"
"A wizard, a witch, an apprentice, a vagrant, all the same in my eyes. They're clearly the source of this magical beast, aren't they?"
"No, you idiot! It's the man down there that you're so buddy-buddy with! Malachai!"
The Crown Prince looked down at the beach.
"Ah, that makes sense. No wonder the duke asked me to get close with that creepy guy. Sylven, how dare you let your caretaker fight that dangerous man alone!"
"Go help her!"
"What's the rush?" he gave a brilliant, confident smile.
With speed beyond my perception, he appeared beside Thalia and Malachai. He grabbed Malachai by his skull and raised him into the air. As he was about to attack him with a flurry of punches, the man disappeared.
"HOW DIFFICULT!" he shouted. "WELL, IT SEEMS THIS MIGHT TAKE LONGER THAN I EXPECTED! YOU MAGICS CAN DEAL WITH THE LEVIATHAN, CAN'T YOU!?"
"We've got it covered!" I shouted down to him as I watched Malachai appear above him and punch him in the chin.
That's gotta hurt...
The Crown Prince grabbed him by the ankle and threw him into the cliffside, but there was no impact, and he vanished again.
"Alright, Ahab, Jezebel, and... Marielle I guess? Listen closely!"
I taught the three of them the explosion spell. The three of them were skeptical that they could cast such a powerful spell by simply saying a few words, but Liora assured them that it was real.
"On three! One, two, three!"
"Tân y diwedd, gwaedd y sêr, Ffrwydrad o'r gwagle, boed i bopeth losgi!" the five of us chanted.
Five, massive magic circles appeared above the leviathan. In quick succession, five gargantuan explosions rocked the creature and sent shockwaves through the air.
"Again!"
I was met with silence.
"I said again!"
"Lin... we... can't..." Marielle groaned. Her voice sounded like she'd swallowed a handful of sand.
I looked around me. Marielle, Ahab, and Jezebel were all collapsed on the floor. They could barely move. Prince was standing there, useless as usual.
"What's wrong!?"
"You idiot! Who has enough mana to use a spell like that!?"
Liora and I looked to each other. The two of us felt fine.
"You're fine, right?"
"Duh!" She gave a thumbs up. "This just means we have to cast it five times each at least!"
I don't think that math is correct...?
"Tân y diwedd, gwaedd y sêr, Ffrwydrad o'r gwagle, boed i bopeth losgi!" we said, one after the other.
We created a never ending chain of explosions which drowned out even the cries of the leviathan. The air sounded like it was splitting, and the night sky was bright with fire. Many of the citizens had actually stopped in their tracks and were now watching the spectacle in awe.
"#############!" the leviathan roared.
"Guys? Why isn't it dying!?" Prince shouted.
"I don't know!? Just keep casting!"
The leviathan finally seemed to be losing its balance in the air, and was losing altitude.
Wait...?
"RUN! IT'S GOING TO CRUSH US!"
Liora and I started to run, but we quickly realized the other three weren't following us. They were collapsed on the ground, of course.
"Carry us...!" Jezebel said.
"How strong do you think we are!? Maybe I could pick up Marielle...?"
Liora grabbed Jezebel and Ahab by the ankles and started running, dragging them behind her and screaming. I followed her example with Marielle.
"Lin, you idiot, what are you doing—!?"
The colossal monster crashed into the ground, just barely behind us. Liora and I fell onto the ground, panting.
"Haaah... it's over... Prince, you were a real help—wha!"
Suddenly, an arm wrapped around my neck and I was pulled into the ground. I reappeared on the beach, held hostage by Malachai.
"Don't come closer, bastard prince, or I'll kill the boy!"
"Huh? The boy? You should've grabbed Marielle, or even my brother. Why would I care about Alwyn's apprentice?"
"Damn you!"
"Seriously, why are you still fighting? They already killed your beast. And it's not like you can beat me...?"
Thalia surprise-attacked Malachai, grabbing and throwing me off to the side. I watched as Thalia and the prince fought Malachai. They took turns exchanging blows.
What an unfair fight, I almost feel bad for the guy...!
"GRaaaAAHHHH!!!!!!" the man screamed.
A strange blue shockwave exploded through the air. His eyes started to glow blue, and the puddle-portal appeared beneath both the prince's and Thalia's feet.
They appeared in Malachai's hands, he held them in the air by their necks.
"Seriously, Malachai, is this the best you could do?" he laughed. "Wow, whatever you just did made you incredibly strong! You might've made top ten in my list, I can't believe I really have to draw my sword on you!"
The Crown Prince kicked him away and grabbed Thalia. She was looking... not great, so he threw her over to me. I tried my best to catch her...?
He unsheathed his sword. I held my breath. It would be the very second knight I'd ever witness to use their sword.
"Damn it! What are you doing in Corvailles anyway!? You're ruining all my plans! There weren't supposed to be any knights still around!"
"Ah, taking advantage of our nation's struggles... just another crime you've committed! Let me exact my judgement!" he laughed.
He swung his sword only a few inches, but the cliff split in half. Malachai fell to his knees, dead.
"Rejoice, people, it's all over! The Crown Prince has saved all of you! Rejoice! Rejoice!" he declared.
I fell onto my back, sighing.
So this was a dead end after all...
I was glad as any other would be if they prevented a massive calamity, but it was a little disappointing that I hadn't gotten to meet Pischt as the shadow suggested. No, it was very disappointing.
Complete waste of time...
I slammed my fist into the sand.
"What's gotten you so upset, young apprentice? You're a hero!" The Crown Prince grinned.
"It's nothing. I just failed my goal, is all."
"What greater goal is there than to be revered!?"
"Revered? Is it that great?"
I thought back to when I'd 'won' the physical games.
It did feel pretty good, didn't it?
"It's the greatest! That's why I'll become king, the most revered person in the world!"
"...I see."
The prince helped me up and put the unconscious Thalia over his shoulder.
He isn't as bad of a guy as I thought, I guess...?
We walked upshore back to the city. Liora was waiting for us.
"Linnie! I totally thought you were dead," she laughed.
"That's something to laugh about?"
"Sorry. But, sir Crown Prince, you were awesome! Who knew knights were so powerful! But why'd you hold back for so long?"
"I didn't hold back, little girl! What's wrong with having a little fun?"
How are you gonna call her 'little girl' when she's the same age as yourfiancée!?
"In a fight? You find fighting fun?" I asked.
"Hm? You don't? I thought you shared my excitement for battle, since you've been smiling so wide this entire time!"
I have?
I felt my face. Sure enough, I was smiling. I quickly stopped after noticing.
"No, I don't enjoy fighting all that much. I sometimes smile when I'm nervous, that's all."
"Well, it's certainly scary! I wouldn't want to fight someone with such a creepy grin on their face, even when they're all bloody!"
I was covered in the leviathan's blood. Liora was too. The monster had practically exploded on impact with the ground, not to mention the countless explosions we sent into it.
Suddenly, cheers erupted. The three of us looked up, and a massive crowd was rushing down onto the beach to celebrate our victory. I smiled, but this time it was genuine.
"Linnie, we're totally heroes! Wait until Aliza and Alwyn hear about this!" she whispered.
"Hehe... we are, aren't we?"