While Vesta and Poseidon Familia's captain were fighting beneath the waves, considerable chaos was spreading above the surface as well.
"Kuhk...!"
"Zald?!"
The flesh of the parasite Zald had bitten into tore through his body from within.
"Damn it... So that flesh wasn't Leviathan's after all..."
For some reason, he had felt like the boost effect was lacking, but he had never imagined the entire body itself was a parasite.
He had managed to suppress it quickly at the start and prevent it from becoming a major injury, but the internal damage was severe. He probably wouldn't be able to return to battle for a while.
And that wasn't the only problem.
Splash!Bubbling...!
Whatever battle was raging beneath the sea, the surface was roiling violently and foam was bursting up everywhere.
That was fine. The problem was that there was no one who could go in there right now.
Even if they tried to get help from Poseidon Familia, everyone looked too shaken to be of any use. At least Poseidon Familia's captain had gone with Vesta's assistance, which was a small mercy.
"Another woman..."
At the muttered complaint, Zald turned his head and saw Arphia's displeased face.
...Had he heard that wrong?
Thinking he might have imagined it, Zald shook his head and tossed the thought aside. Then he suddenly noticed that Arphia was still chanting.
"Arphia, uh..."
"If you have something to say, say it properly."
While he was struggling to find the right words, Arphia snapped at him sharply, clearly irritated.
Zald felt a little wronged, but this was nothing new, so he let it slide.
"I mean, is it really okay to keep chanting? I heard this was supposed to be your last shot."
One chance only. He was asking whether it was really all right to use it in a situation like this.
Arphia was not so foolish that she wouldn't understand the meaning behind those words.
"I wondered what you were going to say, and it turns out..."
"Well, you know, Leviathan is in the sea, and I know that guy is doing his best down there, but..."
Just from the way the sea was churning, it was obvious how hard the two of them were struggling inside.
Arphia seemed to understand that too, her brow furrowing on its own... Unfortunately, Zald hadn't managed to think that far ahead.
"There's no way that guy can drag Leviathan up in time for your chant—kgh?!"
Before he could finish, a fist shot in like lightning and smashed into Zald's face.
Huh...? Why...?
"Idiot."
At Zald's baffled, aggrieved stare, Arphia answered flatly.
"If he couldn't do even that, there's no way he could become a hero."
Such trust. It was both heartening and almost burdensome.
Even while pretending otherwise, Arphia had never once thought he would fail.
"...Poor bastard."
Zald offered a moment of sympathy to the one who had become the object of that trust.
The future of the rabbit who had caught the witch's attention would surely be full of hardship.
"Hey! Stop talking and hurry up with the chant!"
"I know."
At the Empress's urging, Arphia replied in an indifferent voice and continued her song.
Only a few dozen seconds remained until the final bell rang out.
The battle was still going on.
But contrary to the witch's expectations, the fight below the surface was not going so well.
"Kyaoooooo!"
"Ghk?!"
A heavy force slammed into my entire body. Even underwater—no, despite being underwater—the opponent's movements were faster and sharper than they had been on land.
No, that wasn't it. It wasn't that the enemy had gotten faster. I had gotten slower!
Leviathan could move underwater as if it were on land. But in water, I couldn't even bring out half my potential from the surface.
If Poseidon Familia's captain hadn't been there to grab me and carry me, I would have been unable to keep up with that speed and died on the spot.
[How much longer do we need to hold out?!]
"Just a little more."
At the telepathic voice, I tried to communicate as best I could with hand signs and eye movements.
[Now?!]
"No?!"
...Unfortunately, it didn't go very well. Still, somehow, we were holding on.
"Damn it...!"
We were holding on, yes... but only barely. To complete the plan, we had to somehow get this thing back up to the surface right now!
"The bastard called the tyrant of the sea is running away because he's scared?!"
The biggest culprit in this situation was, without question, Leviathan's retreat. Who would have thought the so-called sea tyrant would flee so disgracefully?
You no longer deserve to be called a tyrant. From today on, Leviathan will not be the tyrant of the sea, but the loser of the sea. I'll make sure of it somehow.
"Kyaaaaaaah!"
As if it had sensed my feelings, the assault grew fiercer. So it did have some pride after all.
"What do I do?"
No matter what I did, the fact remained that this was a crisis.
Breathing was growing thinner by the second. The time limit was closing in. My movements were restricted. And the enemy was overwhelmingly powerful.
Everything was familiar, and yet all of it was something I never wanted to get used to. Why was it that nothing ever went smoothly for me? Cursing the world like that, I forced myself to steady my heart.
The complaints could wait. Right now, I had to think only about victory.
It wasn't my role to kill this thing. If that was the case...
I glanced at my one and only left arm. The bell couldn't be heard underwater, but the sparkling grains of light were clearly visible.
About three minutes' worth of accumulation. Power I had been gathering since before we entered the underwater battle. It would affect Leviathan a little, at least...
"Not enough..."
Pulling that massive body upward was close to impossible. Even if I charged it to the limit, it probably still wouldn't be enough.
The difference in mass was simply too great. If it had been something the size of a Goliath, it would have been possible, but unfortunately, my opponent was a monster beyond all standards. Even if it was a loser fleeing in disgrace, its class hadn't disappeared.
Damn it, my breath is getting tighter and tighter. My options are shrinking by the second. This is insane!
"Hoo."
Realizing I was running low on air, Poseidon Familia's captain breathed into me again.
...Actually, this was already the third time. If I were just holding my breath normally, three minutes would be easy enough, but in the middle of a fight, that was a different story.
If anything, she should be impressed I had lasted even three times. Not that I expected anyone to praise me for it.
For the record, I had thought it was impossible for someone with a diving ability to have this much lung capacity, but looking closer, Poseidon Familia's captain had gills. While I was desperately holding my breath, she had been calmly breathing underwater all by herself.
[Are you planning to lift that thing?]
Whether she knew my thoughts or not, she asked that question with firm resolve. What was this? Did she have some kind of plan?
[My magic might help. It's a spell that controls water... I can't create water, but in a situation like this, I can control it almost indefinitely.]
...There was magic like that? I wished she'd said so sooner.
[Only, it doesn't have much killing power on its own, and it takes some time to chant.]
Chant. The moment I heard that word, I realized my mistake.
Come to think of it, I'd forgotten because my own magic had no chant, but normal magic was a technique that took a long time to cast. Pre-chanting in a situation like this was clearly impossible.
And if she was going to chant, she'd have to go above the water.
In other words, I would have to fight that monster alone underwater. Otherwise it would run away.
"How long will it take?"
[...If I finish quickly, about 33 seconds.]
Not 30 seconds or 35, but 33. It was probably the exact time squeezed out to the very limit. It wouldn't be faster or slower than that.
...And it happened to line up almost perfectly with the time remaining until my own limit on accumulated power.
Ha. So this is all there is again, huh.
"Please."
[...]
Maybe my request hadn't gotten through. She only stared at me blankly.
[Are you certain? You'll have to face that thing alone in the meantime.]
Ah, so it had gotten through. She must have just been looking at me like I was insane.
"If not, then there's no other way."
[Letting it escape is also one way. It would be a shame if the subjugation failed, but wouldn't it be proof that we can fight it?]
If we could at least show that humanity could fight it, wouldn't that itself become hope?
It was a valid point.
Indeed, if it gave people hope, that might be meaningful too. I wouldn't have to risk my life, and people's lives might improve a little.
"Don't be ridiculous."
So, she was telling me to give up on the subjugation?
To leave that monster free to make countless people suffer?
"I'll stop it even if I die."
I would stop it no matter what. I would stop that monster's rampage. I would stop the tears someone else would shed in the future.
That was why adventurers picked up weapons, and that was why they fought monsters. That was what an adventurer was. That was what a hero was.
Our eyes met. There was no conversation, but had something passed between us? Or was that just my imagination?
[...You are a splendid warrior.]
No, it probably wasn't my imagination. I could see my own reflection in her pupils.
[I, Neptune, acknowledge you as a great warrior of the sea.]
Droplets of white, pearl-like tears spilled from her eyes.
Mermaid tears. So they really existed. Seeing the miracle of the lower world that had appeared in so many heroic tales with my own eyes made even this situation feel strangely moving.
I took them into my mouth and breathed in one final time.
A fragrant scent of the sea spread through my mouth, and her power began to circulate within me.
Mermaid tears. A mystery always mentioned in pairs whenever sea monsters appeared. And the very reason "mermaid" had become a term for monsters.
To obtain mermaid tears, indiscriminate slaughter had continued, and as a result the merfolk were driven to extinction, leaving "mermaid" as the common name for the mermaid race.
Its effects were said to include immortality, invulnerability, great fortune, and immense wealth, but according to the story I had heard from my grandfather...
[May the blessing of the sea god be with you.]
It was a potion that granted aquatic affinity, allowing even a human without Falna to fight in the water temporarily.
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