Princess's Rebellion #2
Was this what they meant by "when whales fight, the shrimp's back gets cracked"?
Caught between the two standoffish factions, both beastkin were trembling on their legs, unable to move forward or back.
"Hooeeeng..."
It looked like a sheep beastkin to me too. Not that it mattered whether it was a goat or sheep.
I called out to the fidgety sheep beastkin up ahead.
"Hey. Drifter."
"M-me, yang?"
"It's dangerous standing there. Come over here first."
"Are you gonna kill me, yang?"
"No, we're not gonna kill you. Come on."
"Then are you gonna fuck me, yang?"
She seemed like the type conversation wouldn't work on. I sighed and glanced at Azeras.
"Azeras. Knock her out and bring her here."
"...G-got it."
Azeras gave a small nod, then vanished in an afterimage from where she stood.
And in the blink of an eye, she was back—holding the knocked-out sheep beastkin in her arms.
One nuisance down.
Even as this played out, the Jellyfish Queen across from us made no move, just coldly observing with an unmoving expression.
She knew the power gap, no doubt. Any rash action would mean annihilation for her side.
A sharp judgment, worthy of the one who'd killed ten Jellyfish Queens and absorbed their forces.
Our Fish glared fiercely at the Jellyfish Queen and took a step forward.
She glanced back at me.
[Dad. I forgot what Pruru told me to say yesterday! What was it?]
"You son of a bitch."
[Right!]
Fish turned her gaze forward again.
Then she bellowed in a thunderous voice that shook the chamber.
[You son of a bitch! I'm here to take your boss spot! Come at me!]
[......]
The Jellyfish Queen still kept her mouth shut.
She flicked her eyes toward me briefly, then slowly opened her mouth.
[Explorer. Outsiders interfering in a boss fight is taboo.]
"Don't worry. We're just spectators."
[...See that you keep your word.]
Kinogine Arachne set up iron-bar-like threads around the Blood Jellyfish Princess and the Jellyfish Queen.
To keep others from getting caught in their fight—and to preempt any intervention from the other side's jellyfish, though that was unlikely.
Of course, with the Queen's permission.
Oh, and our monsters could jump in anytime. The threads were set not to affect allies.
Except for the Blood Jellyfish Princess.
[Hmm. Honestly, I wasn't confident coming here, but facing her like this... I kinda feel like I can win!]
[Such arrogance.]
Inside the thread bars, the Princess and Queen faced off.
[Doomba, doomba!]
The Hedgehog Summoner God was wiggling his butt between them.
[Doomba.]
The Hedgehog, dancing to the rhythm, suddenly froze.
He alternated glances between the Princess and Queen.
[Doomba! Doomba! Doomba! Fight, yot!!!]
He bounced his butt three times to signal the start, then darted out of the thread bars.
At that instant, the Princess and Queen clashed.
The Princess moved first.
Countless blood-red orbs floated around her and shot toward the Queen.
The Queen countered with exploding orbs of blue and black light.
Boom—!
The magics collided in a massive explosion that rang in their ears, flashing deep purple light.
It was blinding for a moment.
Inside the thread bars, a storm of light raged—red, blue, and black mixing in a dazzling spectacle.
The spreading blast vanished on touching the thread boundary.
Without those threads, everyone nearby would've been swept up.
The Princess reached out.
A strand of red blood sliced through the air toward the Queen.
The Queen deployed a barrier spell.
The blood strand shattered against it.
Both then used flight magic to soar into the air, accelerated by haste spells—their movements too fast to follow.
Thus, 10 minutes, 20, 30...
Endless exploding orbs clashed as the battle dragged on.
Around the 40-minute mark.
The Princess's focus wavered, and the Queen seized the opening, firing a swift black exploding orb.
A compressed blast she'd kept hidden behind her back.
It pierced the Princess's barrier, blasting off one arm.
Fortunately, the Princess regenerated instantly, recongealing her scattered blood into a new arm.
She retaliated with blood orbs, but weakened from the hit, their power was noticeably down.
Meanwhile, the Queen's attacks grew fiercer over time.
Her exploding orbs' light patterns grew more complex, soon shimmering rainbow hues as their might swelled.
[...Father. I'll reinforce the thread bars.]
Arachne rushed to the threads in a panic.
They were melting under the rainbow orbs' blasts.
At this rate, she's gonna lose...
This wasn't just inexperience.
...There's a fundamental skill gap.
Even among SS-grades, the Queen was a step above.
No chance of victory, probably.
As I pondered pulling back...
Splurt.
By sheer, ridiculous luck, one of the Princess's blasts grazed the Queen's face.
A tiny wound opened on the Jellyfish Queen's cheek, red blood trickling from the crack.
The Princess's eyes flashed.
She grinned at the blood, then desperately thrust out her trembling hand.
[Die! You son of a bitch!!!]
Her grating, metal-scraping voice echoed off the cave walls.
That instant.
Gurgle gurgle—
[Wh-what...?!]
The Queen's face began twitching irregularly.
Her skin bulged and deflated repeatedly, warping grotesquely.
Soon, blood inside raged madly.
Veins swelled to bursting, flesh expanding till it tore.
And finally.
Splaaat—!
A horrific explosion ripped off the Queen's face.
Blood sprayed from her body, soaking the thread bars inside.
Victory for the Blood Jellyfish Princess.
[Doomba!!! Winner, BloodJellyPrincess, yot!!!]
Our monsters erupted in cheers after the Hedgehog's declaration.
But not just us.
[Pii, piii!]
[Amazing! Pii!!!]
[Piiii!!!]
The watching jellyfish on the other side cheered in unison.
Accepting the outcome—and recognizing the Princess as their new boss.
Or maybe just relieved to be free of that tyrant.
I lavished praise on the Princess.
Then I started taming the jellyfish lined up before me, one by one.
Already ten tamed so far.
"Good. Next."
[Pii! Hi Dad!]
Since the Princess called me Dad, they all did—even before taming.
Anyway, the red spot discoloration was faster than expected.
About three minutes each.
125 jellyfish total... roughly six hours fifteen to tame them all.
As I worked on that, the Necro Puppeteer fiddled with the Queen's corpse and soon puppeted it upright.
The jellyfish freaked at the sight.
[Pii?!]
[P-pii...!]
I reassured the jittery bunch.
"Kids, no need to be scared. That's a totally different entity from your old boss."
[Pii? Really?]
[But it looks the same...]
[Don't doubt Dad!]
They gradually relaxed.
Some, backed by the Princess, even poked the puppet Queen's head with their tentacles.
[Sh-she's not mad! Pii!]
[Pii! It's fake! Not real! No need to be scared!]
[Phewww... I got spooked...]
[See? Dad doesn't lie!]
[Why do you trust him so much when you just met him today, pii?]
I chuckled at the jellyfish, then looked at the knocked-out sheep beastkin.
Wonder when she'll wake up.
As I thought that, she slowly lifted her eyelids and struggled up from her spot.
"Uuuugh... I was totally ravaged and killed earlier, yang... So is this the afterlife, yang...?"