Chapter 155
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 155
Squelch—.
An aberrant fish-man stepped onto the white sand, its slimy feet leaving wet imprints as it slowly approached.
Its eyes darted about, surveying the surroundings. It seemed to observe the palm trees and sparse patches of grass along the shore with a strange, unsettling curiosity.
[krrrr?]
Then, it spotted us and tilted its head.
The fish-man blinked its bulbous eyes, observing us closely.
Suddenly—
Fwoosh—.
The creature charged with incredible speed.
The sight of the fish-man twisting its joints at bizarre, impossible angles as it rushed toward us was utterly grotesque.
[krrr!]
It unhinged its maw, revealing rows of disgusting, serrated teeth like a shark's. It was a sight so foul it would have made an ordinary person faint on the spot.
But Elena remained unfazed, casting a Divine Shield to block its path.
Thud—.
The charging fish-man slammed its head hard against the suddenly materialized barrier of light.
[krrr?]
Yet, as if it had taken no damage at all, it simply shook its head and lunged at us again.
Fwip—.
“…”
Ciel, who had been watching the situation in silence, drew a dagger and flicked her wrist, aiming for the creature's head.
Thwack—.
The dagger traced a perfect arc before embedding itself deep between the fish-man's eyes.
Perhaps due to Ciel's monstrous strength, the creature's neck snapped back, and it collapsed onto the sand. Dark blood pulsed and oozed from the wound where the blade was lodged.
This was proof that it was a magical beast—a minion of evil.
Elena looked at the creature, blood streaming from its skull, and asked, “Did we get it?”
“Not yet.”
As we watched, the creature, which had been lying on the white sand as if dead, suddenly shot back to its feet.
Shh-nk—.
As if it were nothing more than a nuisance, it pulled the dagger from its own head and blinked its large eyes.
[krrr…]
Then, the thick mucus covering its skin gathered at the center of its forehead, instantly knitting the pierced wound back together.
Flick—.
The fish-man tossed the dagger aside and casually rolled its neck.
Crack—.
Watching its bizarre movements felt like a scene from a horror movie—like encountering an unknown life-form from the depths of space. Even I, who was used to seeing it on a game screen, felt a chill run down my spine seeing it in the flesh.
Elena swallowed hard, her expression tense, and turned to me.
“Clearly… this isn't an ordinary magical beast. Not judging by its actions and its reaction to seeing humans.”
“Exactly. Conventional attacks won't work. It would be best to subdue it with divine magic.”
“Oh Lu, grant this lamb the light of purification.”
Fwoosh—.
A surge of divine magic blossomed from Elena. The chilling aura emanating from her made me tense up, and I instinctively took a step back.
Flash—.
A brilliant beam of light shot from Elena's hand, striking the fish-man directly.
[krrrr!]
The creature, which had shown nothing but curiosity until now, let out a pained shriek as its entire body began to sear under the weight of the divine power.
Fwip—.
Writhing in agony, it kicked off the ground and lunged at us frantically.
[krrrr!!]
It let out a horrifying, grating shriek as it charged, aiming straight for Elena.
Sssss—.
But the divine power had dealt a significant blow. Its body still smoldering from the beam of light, the creature collapsed in a heap just short of Elena's feet. The fish-man twitched, the skin all over its body melted away into a raw mess.
Shudder—.
Judging by the way it was squirming, it wasn't dead yet.
‘Incredibly tough.’
Elena looked on in horror as the creature, its body a melted ruin, struggled to rise again.
“To withstand my divine magic to this extent… Just what is this monstrosity…?”
Instead of answering Elena, I recalled the creature's identity in my mind.
‘It's a Deep Creature, a slave race belonging to Kral, one of the Twelve Honored Ones.’
Kral, the master of these Deep Creatures, was said to have been a ruler with power rivaling that of a Demon God in the distant past. However, after the world's boundaries closed, he lost most of that power and was reduced to an ordinary being.
Because of that, he lost his near-divine, infinite mana. Lore states that he was later defeated by the Demon God and forced into his service. Although Kral lost most of his mana, his biological prowess remained—a trait passed down to his slave race.
That's why this fish-man is so incredibly durable. In the game, all attacks except those using divine power are halved, and its natural regeneration is extremely high. It's one of the trickier monsters that appear late in the game.
In any case, the appearance of these things means that Kral, a member of the Twelve Honored Ones, has appeared on this Full Moon Island.
‘That's probably why we lost contact with the floating ship.’
Still, the Chairman came along on this trip, so it should be fine. With the Chairman's power, he could not only drive Kral away but might even be able to temporarily defeat him.
I organized my thoughts and spoke.
“That's no ordinary magical beast. It appears to be a subordinate race of a higher being.”
“A higher being? But the more demonic its nature, the more damage my divine power should inflict.”
“Which just means it's tough enough to withstand it. We need to inform the other night watch patrols.”
We might be fine, but if another patrol runs into this thing, they might not make it out alive.
“Yes, but first, let's make sure it's dead.”
Elena sighed and stretched her hand into the air.
“Ascalon.”
Vwom—.
At Elena's word, the form of a pure white sword materialized in the air. It was a perfect replica of the holy sword Ascalon, one of the few ‘Mythic’ grade weapons in Myrillin Saga.
“Strike it down.”
Schlick—.
At Elena's command, the holy sword woven from divine power struck, severing the fish-man's neck.
*
The next day.
The students gathered on the white sand for a morning assembly.
We had debated whether to hide the corpse of the fish-man we encountered last night, but with safety being the top priority, we decided to reveal it.
Thump—.
We dropped the corpse of the monster we killed yesterday before the students.
Under the bright morning sun, the fish-man's body was revealed to be covered in slick scales. Its head, with its massive eyes, resembled a deep-sea fish, but its body was humanoid, with a spine hunched like a crone's. However, with the sticky mucus oozing from the scales and barnacles encrusting its skin, it looked anything but human.
“Wh-what is that?”
“A Sea Person?”
“No, Sea People have webbed hands and gills, but they still look like us. That thing is clearly a monster.”
“I… my head hurts just looking at it…”
“Me too.”
Some students began to complain of dizziness just from looking at the corpse. Elena stepped forward to calm the murmuring crowd.
“Everyone, please focus. This magical beast attacked us last night while we were on watch. Unlike ordinary monsters, this one possesses incredible strength. It was difficult to subdue even with my divine magic.”
“Even with Lady Elena's divine magic?”
“No way…”
The students whispered, their faces pale with shock.
“So, for your safety, please avoid the beach as much as possible. They could attack at any time.”
After she forbade them from approaching the shore, a student asked, “Does this mean it'll be harder to escape the island?”
It was a valid question. The Deep Creatures' attacks are extremely dangerous. With them in the water, launching a boat won't be easy. More importantly, they are creatures that live in colonies. It's like seeing a single cockroach—it means hundreds more are lurking nearby.
However, I spoke up to reassure them for the time being.
“We'll need to reinforce the boat's durability to withstand their attacks. It will take longer than expected, but the escape plan itself is not compromised. Don't worry.”
*
We finished the assembly and dismissed the students.
The situation was too dangerous, so starting today, we forbade any expeditions for food gathering. We removed non-combat students from the night watch and formed new patrols consisting of students with high combat power and rankings from the competitive matches.
Additionally, I ordered that each patrol must include a priest or paladin capable of using divine magic to counter the monsters' traits. We also consolidated all the low-level cube shelters into massive fortresses. Responding to enemy attacks was now a higher priority than comfortable sleeping arrangements.
‘We currently have a total of 7,500 cubes.’
The same as the number of students who landed on this jungle island. We decided to use 2,000 of them to build two boats, and the rest to form Level 10 fortresses to solidify our defenses. Since the base level doesn't go higher than 10 anyway, there was no point in combining them further.
And so, five magnificent Level 10 fortresses, built by combining the cubes, now stood on the beach. With these, we should be able to withstand an attack from a horde of fish-men, should they come.
*
Evening, as the sun began to set.
The red light of the sunset filtered dimly through the thick fog. The day was almost over, but there was still no word from the floating ship.
‘Is the situation worse than I thought?’
I was sitting on the beach, waiting for contact from the ship while focusing on transmuting the boat. Just then, Elena appeared in the distance, her footsteps soft on the sand. This time, she was alone, without Ciel.
Without looking at her, I continued my transmutation work.
“You've been coming by often lately.”
“You must be bored building the boat all by yourself, right? I figured you could use someone to talk to.”
“I suppose so.”
Elena gathered her priestess robes and sat down near me. Normally, such close contact would have been a huge threat to my equipment, but thanks to the Star of Tubal-Cain, I didn't have to worry about the durability of Derod's Ring.
Elena handed me a cup of ice water. “Here. We're out of juice, so all we have left is water.”
“Ice water is more than enough.”
I gulped down the water as Elena continued.
“…It's getting harder to control the students. Everyone's getting anxious.”
“That's understandable.”
It was the second day of being stranded. On top of that, knowing that bizarre magical beasts were roaming nearby was enough to make anyone lose their nerve. Unlike before, when they were exhausting themselves searching for food, they were now just sitting in the fortresses, getting restless and overthinking. When you have nothing to focus on, your mind naturally starts to wander.
“Still, I'm sure you can handle them without any problems. I'm counting on you.”
“It's a heavy burden.”
“It's only because it's you that things have held together this well. If it were me, there would have been a riot by now. You're doing more than enough.”
“That's true.”
If I had tried to lead the students without Elena, things would have spiraled out of control long ago. In that respect, Elena's role was crucial. I can use my knowledge to act like a competent leader, but I'm not the type of person who can naturally embrace and comfort everyone.
Elena and I continued to discuss various survival strategies. After we finished with the practical matters, the conversation died down.
“…”
I silently focused on gathering my mana and continuing the boat's transmutation. Just then, Elena, hugging her knees, quietly spoke.
“Actually, I've been suspicious of you ever since that day.”
‘That day? She must mean the time she suddenly blasted me with a divine healing spell at the cafe.’
It seemed Elena had viewed me with suspicion ever since.
Elena said, her voice a little downcast, “I'm sorry. For not being honest.”
I kept my focus on my work. “…You're free to be suspicious. It's not something you need to apologize for.”
“Still. I was smiling on the outside while doubting you the whole time. My conscience has been bothering me.”
“Does telling me this mean you're done being suspicious?”
“Well, you could say that. Let's get along from now on.”
Elena offered me a handshake. I hesitated for a moment before taking her hand.
“Haven't we been getting along fine until now? Let's just keep it that way.”
“Okay. And I'll join the Student Council, too. You said you'd give me the position of Head of the Medical Department, right?”
“Right. I'd be grateful if you joined.”
If Elena joined, the Student Council, which was currently one in name only, would finally gain some real weight.
After the handshake, Elena stood up. “Well, keep up the good work. I'll bring you a late-night snack in a bit.”
“A late-night snack, huh? Sounds good.”
In a harsh environment like this, we needed to eat well when we could. And I needed to replenish the energy I'd used up on transmutation.
However.
“I don't think we'll have the luxury for that.”
I sighed and drew the Azoth Sword sheathed at my waist. I looked up at the darkening night sky and the thick sea fog blanketing the shore.
As I gazed out, Elena also turned to look beyond the mist.
Squelch—.
With that now-familiar footstep, figures began to emerge dimly from the fog.
[krrr,]
The fish-men we saw yesterday. And unlike yesterday, they were in a group.
Elena swept her hair back and closed her eyes. “You said they were a species that lives in colonies, right?”
“Right. First, I'll move the boat I'm transmuting inside. Then we'll position the combat-capable students on top of the fortresses and prepare for a siege. As for command… I'll take it.”
“Alright. I'll trust the leadership you showed during the Faction War.”