Beg and Beg Again (8)
“Damn it—we’re getting out of here first!”
With dragons on both sides, none of the humans aboard had the nerve to stay put. Luring only worked if the ship—and the lives on it—were still intact.
Slap.
Wasn’t there an awful lot of water on the ship, though?
Water sloshing across the deck kept smacking my ankles. I had a bad feeling about this.
“Bail the water!”
Yeah. Not fine.
At the boatswain’s order, some of the crew started hauling water up with buckets. The rain was past the point of blocking vision—it looked ready to split rock.
“Forget the harpoons and help bail!”
With that much water pouring in, the sailors grabbed even the adventurers and put them to work.
Dev got a bucket thrust into his hands before he knew what was happening, but thankfully no one shoved a wooden tub at me standing right beside him.
Probably a call to leave some hands free for the Dragon Tooth Soldiers. Especially me—I had the highest kill count on this ship against those things.
“Dragon Tooth Soldiers incoming!”
Confession time: seasickness had made me miss a few. And I was still the top killer. I wasn’t sure what to make of that.
Was this the kind of thing you could cope with by telling yourself it was only because the Inquisitor and that whip-using adventurer had been feeding me assists? I honestly didn’t know if that even counted as cope.
Thwip!
I grabbed another harpoon—getting more comfortable with them the more I threw—and quietly checked how the monster clash was going.
The Sea Dragon and the black dragon were thrashing about, trying to tear into each other.
If the Sea Dragon finished the black one off like this, that would be ideal—but realistically, the odds looked terrible.
If you couldn’t put out the damage to kill it, all you were doing was stealing aggro. Even if I chucked a spear from here, a dragon with teeth already buried in its throat wasn’t going to notice a toothpick stuck somewhere in its body.
We might have to turn the ship around later after all.
“Tidal wave!”
“Damn it, why doesn’t the barrier block waves?!”
Meanwhile the black dragon’s tail slammed the water near us and kicked up a massive swell. It was as big as when the Sea Dragon had burst out—no, this one looked ready to flip the ship on its side for sure.
Dragon Tooth Soldiers caught in the wave were flung ahead of it, smashed flat against the barrier, and slid down in a smear.
“O God, grant us Your protection!”
That was when the priests—who until now I hadn’t been sure were actually doing anything—stepped up. Some laced their fingers in prayer, others raised their weapons; each of them poured out Holy Power in their own way.
Outside the existing barrier, a membrane of flowing gold layered itself over everything. The tidal wave hit that sacred wall and split in both directions.
So that was why the priests had come aboard.
I never expected the first thing to take a chunk out of my HP in this raid would be my own allies.
“Bloody hell. Those lunatics almost look pretty for once.”
For the record, that wasn’t Baramson—it was someone Baramson had brought along.
“Hey—what about the dragons?!”
Baramson asked. I had nothing useful to tell him. The monster clash was still going.
And the distance had opened up too much for me to throw a spear. Even at close range it was a coin flip whether I’d draw its eye; from here I wasn’t sure a hit would even punch through the scales.
“We shall open fire.”
Whoa—damn, that startled me. Right. The Archmage was on this ship too. I hadn’t seen his face since we left port, so I’d briefly forgotten he existed.
“When?”
“Now.”
Suddenly a whirring rose from the central mast as something prepared there spun up.
I’d thought the central mast was just heavily reinforced with iron plating for strength. Looking closer, there was machinery built into it.
“W-whoa…”
One of the greener sailors kept bailing water without pause while his eyes stayed locked on the top of the mast.
I snuck a glance myself and was a little stunned. Magical power boiled and gathered into a sphere, then fired something like a beam.
And the instant the black dragon flung the Sea Dragon off, the magic cannon struck that sinuous body. BOOM! A massive explosion bloomed.
KREEEEEEE!
Clinging to the railing, I checked on the black dragon. Through my tango-dancing vision I could see it thrashing its head.
Looking closely at the spot the shot had hit… the scales were a little cracked… cracked? It was so pitch-black I couldn’t see a thing. I couldn’t even tell if the aggro had stuck.
“Hyaaah!”
Ah—right. That battle cry told me Kimchi Mandu was putting her back into it. So was the black dragon… looking this way? Had the aggro taken?
KYAAAAA!!
It had.
“Dragon incoming!”
It had taken a little too well.
It was coming in a straight line! With a tidal wave in tow!
I screamed inside my head. Is this right? Is this actually right? Is this really how the lure is supposed to work?
But no amount of flailing changed the position I was in.
In the end I sprinted for the stern. I’d been mid-deck to deal with Dragon Tooth Soldiers more easily, but the dragon took priority now.
“Here it comes!”
“Focus on the barrier!”
Last time, even a glancing counter right before its attack had shaved off a quarter of my HP. So how much would a direct hit to the rear end cost?
Tzzzzzt.
Whatever the number, it wasn’t going to be good news.
So I poured every scrap of magic power I had into the harpoon. Same idea as before—if I could stagger it with an attack, we might get away with a graze.
KREEEEEE!!!
But the dragon swelled the wave even higher and rode that tsunami up into the air. This was a counter!
“O God!!”
Fortunately, we had backup barriers armed with pure faith.
“This unworthy servant offers herself…”
Centered on the Inquisitor, gold light began to pour forth.
“…part the sea and save Your poor lambs.”
The wave that had come to swallow the ship slammed into the golden wall and turned the water around us into an underwater aquarium.
“Establish Your glory upon this sea.”
And my HP plummeted in a straight line.
“Aaaargh!”
“O Sea Dragon!”
“Urgh—uaaaagh!!”
Hey—hold on. I’m not about to drown in seawater; I’m about to drown in Holy Power.
I know I’m the worst possible matchup for Holy Power, but teamkilling is a bit much! Hwaaagh!!
PAANG!
Before my HP hit rock bottom, the ship heaved upward and broke the surface. Ten years off my life. Holy Power scattered with the spray.
Hostile entities exist within a 30m radius.
Thwip!
But the black dragon gave us no time to catch our breath. It surged up right off the bow.
It had clearly been counting on us going under, and now it was furious that we hadn’t. The ship heeled wildly.
I wanted nothing more than to drive a spear into that body for payback—but whether from the sudden HP drop or the shock of the ship’s vertical rise, the edges of my vision had gone black and white, and I could barely move. The distance from stern to bow didn’t help either.
So I clutched my head and rode out the dizziness.
“Everyone hold on!”
Infuriatingly enough, the dragon that had poked its head over the bow bent its body into a U and dove into the sea along the ship’s flank, rocking us all over again. Bile surged up my throat.
Kyaaah!
Then the Sea Dragon came charging this way as if to save us.
Ah—of course it wasn’t much of a help. Another swell rose on a surface that was already pure chaos.
Lurch!
Like a body thrown forward in a hard car stop, mine was flung against my will. I couldn’t take it anymore.
“Blegh.”
Something thick forced its way up my throat and out.
The color was a little dark. The bile I knew was a lighter shade than this.
Trickle.
Something mixed with the rain came out of my eyes too. I hoped it was tears, but the droplets hitting the deck didn’t look much like tears. Part of my vision had even gone red.
As long as it wasn’t an injury penalty, I didn’t particularly care.
A little red vision and a little blood wouldn’t kill me.
KYAAAAK!
CRASH!
“……!”
While I was trying to talk myself down, something slammed into the barrier. Clang! The sound of something shattering rang in my ears.
“Oh no!”
“O God!”
I snapped my head up at the bad feeling. A black tail smashed through the barrier and snapped part of the rear mast. The only reason the damage stopped there was the Inquisitor, teeth gritted, forcing a wall into place.
The Archmage let out a short cry and dropped back down below.
But the tail attacks didn’t end there.
Whether by chance or design, even while snarling with the Sea Dragon, the black dragon kept whipping its tail down at us with vicious precision.
What it was relentlessly targeting was the central mast.
Trickle.
Thin threads of blood ran from the clenched lips of the priests.
The Inquisitor was much the same. The stronger her radiance grew, the more she poured into the wall holding back the tail strikes, the more her body radiated heat enough to boil rain on contact.
It did not look healthy. Neither did my HP, freefalling right along with it.
I can’t just sit here and take this.
Gripped tight.
I locked my hand on the railing and seized the zweihander hanging at my back.
Sure, I was grateful the main mast was still standing—but with one mast already broken, there was no way to just smile and take it.
My concept’s temper would never let this slide.
“……? You?”
Besides, if that barrier kept going, I was going to drop dead on the spot. Dying to my own allies? Absolutely not. Hard pass!
Plan or no plan—I needed to live right now!
Tap.
My body climbed onto the railing again.
“Whip!”
“Wh-what?!”
Swinging a sword from the rail would just wave it around. I ran along the railing toward the tail as it came down to strike the ship once more.
And when my position lined up with the tail, I jumped as if I meant to dive into the open ocean.
Shiiing!
The drawn zweihander filled both my hands, drinking in pitch-black energy.
Slash!
A black crescent bloomed from the blade, swelling as it cut through the dragon’s tail. Shhk! Black blood sprayed, and several meters of tail finally came free.
KYAAAAAAK!
I had never heard a dragon’s scream sound so satisfying.
“Wh-whoa!”
But the price of that one clean hit was offering my body up to gravity.
Whirrr!
The instant I was about to hit the seawater, a whip snaked around my torso. The sting was unavoidable, and the leather strap squeezing my middle didn’t feel great—but at least I was spared the ocean.
Several adventurers hauled together, using the whip as a lifeline to pull me back onto the deck.
Thud.
I tried for a proper landing and rolled instead.
Tch. Still—without panicking at the failed landing, I rolled one more turn into a cool pose: one knee down, one hand planted on the deck. Go me. Even if my stomach had flipped so hard I had to spit out more of the thick stuff in my mouth.
“Demon Knight!”
I hurriedly clapped a hand over my mouth, coughed, then looked at what was on my gauntlet and felt a relief that wasn’t quite relief.
Oh good—it was blood. If it had been bile, the whole vibe would’ve been ruined.
Not that anyone would have blamed me. It was just… if I still couldn’t escape the concept, I at least wanted to keep the cool. After performing like that, vomiting bile at the end hits completely different from coughing up blood.
“Aagh! Sir, are you all right?!”
Dev, who had poked his head out from inside, bolted over in a panic. While my head was still spinning, he scooped me up under the pretense of support, which only made the dizziness worse.
“The… dragons.”
I squeezed my eyes shut, then opened them again.
“Don’t know, sir—both of ’em went under…”
My vision was redder than before, but the dizziness had eased a little. Probably?
The ship was still pitching so hard I couldn’t tell if I was better or not.
“Dragon’s Throat again! Everyone brace yourselves!”
I’d cut off that much of its tail—surely the aggro wouldn’t drop. Once we entered the Dragon’s Throat, the reefs would make the water depth uneven, so ambushing from below would be harder too—
Hostile entities exist within a 30m radius.
“Huh?”
I felt a shallow vibration under the sea and spotted a skill marker approaching, lodged beneath the hull. Then the water seemed to rise—and something erupted off the ship’s port side.
“Uwaaaaagh!”
A barrier that must have been reformed at some point shattered again. The ship heeled hard, sending people sliding to one side.
CRUNCH!
The black dragon’s jaws bit straight through the mast.
Bang! Kaboom! Bang!
Ominous tremors kept traveling up through the bottom of the hull.
CRACK!
“There’s a hole!!”
“Dragon Tooth Soldiers—hwaaagh!”
The sound of catastrophe.
“O God, hear our prayer. Hear our plea.”
“Don’t panic! Get below and stop the water first! Adventurers—handle the Dragon Tooth Soldiers!”
Ah… should I have left the tail alone? Should I just have waited for the ship to get clear of its range?
Even if my HP hit the floor, better one person hanging by a thread than everyone dying…
KYAAAAK!
On a ship that had barely righted itself like a roly-poly toy, I locked eyes with the dragon across a stretch of wave-widened water.
Thud-thud.
The mast in its jaws split in two and crashed into the sea, and those blood-red eyes fixed on me with perfect accuracy.
“Bail, now! If we sink here, we’re all dead! The forward mast is still standing!”
In that moment I understood.
It would have tried to kill us even if I hadn’t cut the tail. Before the tail, there had been the cannon shot. Before that, the harpoons I’d driven into it.
Or maybe it only needed the fact that we had trespassed on its domain. Or simply that we were living things still breathing.
Simply because we were negation.
“Right now—!”
BOOM!
Something slammed into the ship through the unrepaired gap in the barrier and the space the priests hadn’t managed to cover with prayer.
It was a Dragon Tooth Soldier larger than any I’d seen so far.
Still forming, though—its legs were just emerging, its face only now pushing free.
What you could tell from the unfinished body was that the bulk of it looked uncannily like the black dragon’s severed tail.
But something more important stood out. The thing had been incredibly lucky. Not in the sense of aiming for a gap on purpose—genuinely, insanely lucky.
With a single attack it had nearly stolen from us a person we could not replace. That much was certain.
“Captain!”
“Ghk—!”
Baramson, stuck at the helm and unable to move, took a full blast of water from the Dragon Tooth Soldier and went flying out over the sea.
“Captain!”
The sailors screamed.
Magic power gathered in my legs the next instant without conscious thought.
“Y-you—!”
“Wait!”
Ha. Really. Mast smashed, hole in the bottom. This raid was looking like a write-off.
So—reset angle, then.
But was I just going to roll over and accept that?
“Return to the ship.”
“Kh—?!”
I cut through the air and caught up to Baramson as he flew. My hand closed on his collar, and I flung him back the way he’d come.
“Sir Knight—!”
Hitting the deck like that was going to hurt like hell, but that wasn’t my problem. Still better than me about to fall into the ocean, right? Especially with the black dragon right in front of me.
KAAAAAAK!
The dragon opened its jaws in delight and lowered its head. Its enormous bulk made it a little slow.
But once you were in the water, no amount of swimming would get you clear of that mouth’s range.
“Victory to my blade.”
But I still hadn’t given up.
The plan was already ruined—so I’d try the fight that had only ever lived in my imagination.
“Glory to that sky…!”
The skill Survival Instinct pointed me to a fragment of the mast the dragon had torn free and spat into the sea at random.
Incredibly lucky. For a splinter to still be floating on the surface after riding out swells like these was a brutally hard condition to meet.
But I seized that coincidence and found my foothold.
Thwip!
The fragment underfoot kicked up a circular spray from the impact.
My body lifted into the air.
THUD!
Beneath my feet, the black dragon’s head came crashing in.