Begging and Begging Again (10)

I sat quietly with the window half-blocking my view and let myself think.

I finally understood that old saying about diving deep when the waves grow fierce. It really is safer down there.

Compared to the absolute chaos above, the world beneath the surface felt strangely still and gentle.

Bubble… bubble…

I exhaled, forcing my scattered mind—battered this way and that by the waves—back into my skull. Air bubbles slipped from my lips and rose upward, unlike me.

I have to move.

The two-hander I was barely still gripping, the longsword half-out of its scabbard, and the full weight of a grown man hung with every piece of gear imaginable: none of it was going to float on its own. If I didn’t want to sink, I had to thrash my limbs or do something.

Move.

But my body refused to obey reason. The light that had pierced the gray sea only to scatter like an aurora, the peculiar quiet-yet-noisy hush of the deep, the muffled roar of distant explosions—all of it felt uncharacteristically kind. Kind enough that sinking forever almost seemed fine.

…Still. After coming this far? When I could still make out the faint silhouette of the black dragon I had cut down?

Dying because I got lost in a moment of peace would be a little pathetic, wouldn’t it?

I snapped my eyes open, tightened my grip on the sword, and spun around.

In the black-and-murky haze on every side, pale shapes swam into view. All of them were Dragon Tooth Soldiers.

The situation was terrible. Normally I would have answered them with a casual “one hit each,” but this was underwater. I was short on breath. Both my HP and mana were empty. Survival Instinct was still on cooldown. First priority: get to the surface.

I kicked hard. The two-hander was far too heavy, so I jammed it into my inventory. The longsword I kept—I would need it against the Dragon Tooth Soldiers.

Thump. Thump.

Muffled impacts followed as my legs and arms drove toward the surface. The higher I went, the stronger the waves became, making every movement harder.

“Pwah!”

The instant my face broke free, a goddamn wave slammed me back under. No—not a wave. A Dragon Tooth Soldier. Heat flared around my ankle.

“……!”

This damn lizard bastard had just used up my spare life.

I swung the longsword, praying the HP Indomitable Spirit had restored wouldn’t hit rock bottom again. The blade carved through mild resistance and somehow connected with the Dragon Tooth Soldier.

Thwack!

Whether from lack of strength or lack of mana coating, a single slash only cut halfway through its hide. I forced another swing. Only then did the creature’s head come free and release my ankle.

Kyaaak!

But the ambush was only beginning. I smashed the next one’s skull and scrambled upward in a panic.

Hah. A little air mixed with water slipped past my lips. I dropped my gaze back under the surface. Dragon Tooth Soldiers were already charging me again.

Crunch!

One finally sank its teeth into my right arm. Naturally I swung to take its head. Screeech. For a split second a metallic screech I had been ignoring until now grated on my nerves.

Crack!

Just as I finished the one on my arm and prepared to cut the next—

Snap.

No clean ringing sound. The longsword’s blade broke clean in two. Goddamn it. The moment a straight sword became a broken straight sword.

Bubble bubble.

I mouthed a curse through the bubbles. Sure, its durability had dropped a lot, but it still had around seventy left. Not fifty—seventy! And it just snapped? Snapped at this exact timing?

This was pure bullshit!

I couldn’t believe it, yet I still twisted my head aside. A Dragon Tooth Soldier barely missed my skull and bit water instead. Thank every god for that, but the sudden helplessness flooded my brain.

The two-hander? No good as a backup. On land maybe, but in water the longer and heavier a weapon, the worse it handled.

Fight with the broken piece? Are you insane? Longer is inconvenient, true, but what’s left of the blade looks under ten centimeters, and the longsword’s edge was never sharp there to begin with!

Burble!

I ground my teeth at the approaching Dragon Tooth Soldier. Thwack! The broken hilt cut through water and smashed dead center between its eyes. Its body twisted on reflex.

Good—now grab a weapon in that opening! I frantically patted inside my clothes and yanked out a dagger. Throwing type or not, I needed something—anything—in my hand. My last desperate thrash. With my right hand I snatched the broken blade half. I had my doubts about fighting with it, but there was no other option.

Two Dragon Tooth Soldiers lunged, jaws wide. I swept the dagger at the one from the left as a threat and thrust the broken blade at the one coming almost straight on.

Crunch!

My quick hands made it bite steel instead of me. Crunch crunch! Its savage chewing ground against the blade while it still tried to tear into my head.

I wanted nothing more than to bury the dagger in its throat, but too many others were coming from the empty left and from behind. Arms trembling, I kept swinging the dagger.

Pwah.

To make everything worse, the breath I had been barely holding finally escaped, and my body screamed for oxygen. The overlapping chaos blurred my vision from the edges inward. This was a situation that could drive anyone completely insane.

“My lord!”

Splash!

Yet they say even when the sky falls there is a hole to climb through.

Something plunged into the water near me in a massive burst of bubbles and rushed closer. A harpoon buried itself in the crown of the Dragon Tooth Soldier still clamping the blade and shoving me. Following the arm that swung it, I found a face I knew—and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was damn glad to see.

Dev, pale-blue chains coiled around his upper body.

Burble, burble.

Dev’s lips moved as if he were trying to speak. I couldn’t really hear him. Lip-reading was impossible with my vision the way it was.

One thing, however, was crystal clear.

“……!”

I dropped the dagger and hauled Dev in with my free hand. Crunch! A Dragon Tooth Soldier crushed down on my right arm.

Only after that did Dev squeeze his eyes shut and yank the chains wrapped around himself.

Clatter-clatter-clatter!

With the rattle of chains, Dev—and my body still gripping him—shot through the water faster than the Dragon Tooth Soldiers. If nothing special happened, this had to be heading for the ship. I had no idea how he had found my position, but I thought, I might actually live.

That is, if I didn’t run out of air first.

Sss.

Maybe I thrashed unconsciously toward the surface for the missing breath. Something entered my mouth. An object leaking oxygen.

“……!”

Dev, you magnificent bastard!

Emotion surged up my throat. He hated water yet still dove after me, and on top of that he had brought something so I could breathe. I was genuinely moved.

Kyaaaaaak!

Of course some idiot had to interrupt at the worst possible moment.

With the replenished air clearing my vision again, I looked down. The target marker was there, and the sound came from there, so it was only natural. And what filled my eyes was pure madness.

A black dragon, severed roughly at what would be a human’s waist, was swimming toward me using only its upper body.

What was this, a zombie? The thing was disgustingly grotesque!

Ah, looking closer, legs that hadn’t been there before were sprouting from its flat belly, and a new tail was growing from the cut surface. In a way it resembled a Dragon Tooth Soldier. I hadn’t known it could remodel an entire torso instead of just scale by scale.

Wait—then the thing that hit Baramson earlier really had been a severed tail turning into a Dragon Tooth Soldier? Not even a slime splits like that. This thing’s tenacity was exactly like that four-letter-name mage who tried to live forever by splitting his soul.

Burble.

Anyway, staying still meant dying. I cursed through the bubbles and made my decision.

Dev, sensing my choice, clamped onto my clothes, but shaking him off was easy enough. The chains dragged Dev away, and in an instant I was left alone in the sea.

Fortunately the black dragon remnant charged only me, not Dev. The distance closed at terrifying speed.

Bubble bubble.

Now… please.

I forced the two-hander out of my inventory and gripped it. Swinging was still hard, but once I pulled mana through Life Conversion it became manageable. The price was that my already paper-thin HP dropped to exactly one. So what? I had no exit left anyway.

Bubble.

Die.

And so I delivered truly the last of last attacks. The sword stroke, carrying only the faintest resistance, split the divided dragon from crown to jaw and sprayed blood.

Because the dragon’s blood was black, an unintended blackout followed.

The Archmage stared anxiously at the sky and sea that finally seemed to be clearing of the storm.

The young man who had volunteered the moment he spotted the Demon Knight’s head above the water was already crossing the waves, using the stepping-stones the mages had hastily gathered mana to create.

Then his body plunged into the sea. The adventurers tensed hard.

“When the signal comes, pull.”

“Shit, this is…”

The chains had been prepared knowing they would have to cut through Dragon Tooth Soldiers. Improvised with magic, yet if it worked they should be enough to haul both men to safety.

“He’s here!”

“Pull!”

The promised signal came. Adventurers and any sailors who still had strength hauled the chain with one heart and one mind. Magic added to the effort made the speed respectable.

“Cough, cough.”

But when they confirmed only one person had returned, the Archmage sank to her knees without realizing it.

“Hey! You!”

“It’s not—not too late yet, cough.”

Someone tried to support the young man. He shook them off himself. Through dripping dark-green hair, green eyes shone vividly—just as the Inquisitor, still praying without abandoning hope despite the horrific situation, refused to give up.

“It’s not too late yet!”

“What?”

“We can still save him!”

“Wait, no! The Dragon Tooth Soldiers are almost on us!”

“Damn it, the knight-lord is still alive!”

“Dragon Tooth Soldiers approaching!”

So how could she give up?

The Hero was vomiting blood just to keep this ship afloat and maintain a sanctuary the enemies could not approach. A thief barely better than an ordinary man had volunteered for a suicidal task. The Demon Knight was fighting a dragon on the seafloor in a human body.

How could she?

“Give me ten seconds.”

She had taken internal injuries when the barrier broke, but it no longer mattered. Sparing one’s body only has meaning if one survives.

Trickle.

“A-Archmage!”

She forcibly gathered ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mana and compressed it. Chanting would have made the spell more precise, but her mouth was full of blood, so she skipped the words.

It didn’t matter.

Arrows of mana, closer to artillery fire, pierced every Dragon Tooth Soldier that had surfaced near the ship. Her insides churned violently and blood soaked her white fur, yet the price felt cheap.

“Archmage!”

“I’m… fine…”

Those young ones were more precious than an old woman’s life.

She slumped down as her vision blurred. The strain on an already aged body would allow no further movement. Still, it was good.

Suddenly a portion of the great sea rose. Light filtering through the parting clouds dyed the world gold.

“That’s…”

“C-could it be for us…?”

What lifted its head from between the waves was a dragon—clad not in black but in blue, an uncorrupted divine beast.

Kiiiiii.

A clear cry rang out as the dragon’s jaws opened. Between them could be seen a red tongue and something black held firmly—hair of two different colors, one eye covered, standing out sharply.

“Knight-lord!”

“Demon Knight!”

The pure beast easily slipped its head into the sanctuary. The young man and Baramson fearlessly leaned into the beast’s mouth and seized the man.

Thud. A dragon’s head, severed in half, dropped onto the deck.

“Hey, are you alive?”

“My lord, my lord, are you alive?”

The Archmage forced her closing eyes open. At the very least she wanted to confirm the safety of the one who had led the most dangerous charge before she slept.

“My lord, answer us.”

“Cough.”

“My lord!”

Ah. Just as expected.

“Stop making noise…”

“Is that something you should say?! I thought my heart would stop!”

With that temper he was never going to die easily. Only then could she relax and let her eyelids fall. It would be a… somewhat long sleep.

Ah, fucking hell.

I had just confirmed the split body wasn’t going into a third phase—another Dragon Tooth Soldier revival—and was heading for the surface. The air Dev gave me was enough, but I still needed to report I was alive, right?

Of course the sinking dragon corpse was way too precious—these things only drop materials if you butcher the body—so I had struggled up while hauling one of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the split heads. Throwing away a “dragon byproduct” just because of some “I don’t pick up trash” setting was impossible. It was surprisingly light for its size, too.

Besides, my longsword had just broken. If I could make a priest-sword or something out of this dragon head, perfect. Until I was sure whether there would be quest rewards, I had to grab at least this.

But while I was kicking and grunting my way up, something like arrows started raining down. I dove in panic to dodge, only to witness ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the Sea Dragon tearing one of the black dragon’s split bodies to shreds. I tried to quietly head for the ship, saw the surging Holy Power, and almost just surrendered myself to the waves in tears—only for the Sea Dragon to forcibly clamp me in its mouth (I nearly attacked it from pure shock; mana and HP being empty was the only reason it stayed a misfire) and deliver me straight to the deck.

There was no choice involved.

I appreciated the kindness, but my HP was in serious trouble.

“Cough.”

Wow. Look at that, blood the second I enter the Holy Power zone. Isn’t this penalty way too harsh? Somehow the HP my allies are shaving off is more than what the enemies took!

“My lord!”

But really? Am I actually going to die like this? After everything I survived to get here? After how I killed the dragon?

Ha, what am I supposed to… I went limp watching the HP bar crawling along the floor. The thought of dying so meaninglessly just drained the strength from me.

Fortunately, the moment HP hit 1 it stopped dropping any further. Even after enough time for it to have fallen twice more, it stayed put. What is this, give the disease then give the medicine? Last scrap of conscience? Holy Power can bleed me but won’t let it go below 1?

I have a lot to say about that setting, yet suddenly I don’t want to say any of it.

“Stop making noise…”

“Is that something you should say?! I thought my heart would stop!”

Still, if I wasn’t dying right this second I could relax a little. I slumped into character as usual.

“Sea.”

One of the people supporting me happened to be Baramson.

“We haven’t lost yet, right?”

You thought I didn’t hear you earlier? I kept my promise. Even if the one-day delay made the promise meaningless, I still took the dragon itself down in half a day.

“…Yeah. Goddamn it. We haven’t lost. We haven’t lost…”

I watched Baramson let out a hollow laugh. At least there was some satisfaction in that.

“Damn, you must be happy you got to use a legend?”

There was satisfaction… wait. Hey, I just noticed—why is the Archmage being carried off? And why is the Inquisitor trapped inside a pillar of light? Why are all the priests unconscious?

Can we even get home??

“Th-the dragon!”

People suddenly clamored and shouted. A lurch like the ship being lifted came with it.

“Fish and turtles are carrying the ship…”

“…Is it planning to take us to shore?”

“Good heavens, the Sea Dragon itself is leading the ship…”

…I have no idea what’s going on, but apparently the dragon is handling it somehow.

Then we really can go home. Oh thank god. If it had said we couldn’t return from here I would’ve cried.

“Priest!”

“Inquisitor!”

At that moment the Inquisitor collapsed. The radiance wrapping the ship vanished.

“Hot hot!”

“You mustn’t touch her carelessly!”

“O God…”

The one gasping for breath with heat rising from her body looked like she had gone through some ordeal I knew nothing about. And that ordeal was probably what had protected this ship.

“…Annoying as it is, I have to admit it. The temple’s actually useful in its own way.”

Otherwise Baramson would never say something like that.

“Well, she is a Hero of sorts.”

“…What? Hero?”

“Anyway, my lord. This time let’s go rest for real. Please.”

“Hey, finish what you were saying!”

“Aren’t you looking at the helm? You’re not taking the wheel?”

“The helm’s wrecked, how am I supposed to look at it!”

In any case, that was the moment I truly felt the raid was over. The original plan had gone completely to hell, but everything I had wanted was accomplished.

“Yeah.”

“……?”

Of course there would still be a pile of things to handle once we reached the city. I had to help Baramson for starters.

“I’ll rest… a little.”

Still… resting a bit today should be fine.

“…You’re not the lord I know. I’m not falling for it. There’s no way you’d ever suggest resting.”

“…….”

“Ha, don’t make life hard for people when you’re in a good mood and just get inside already? Really, some people never know when to quit.”

“What the hell are you suddenly talking about?”

“None of your business.”

…Ha. Life is rotten.