Chapter 51
Chapter 51
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: Ghost of the Sea (7)
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Something began to emerge onto the deck of the small ship that had been smashed by the water pillar and was slowly sinking.
If he had to describe it, it was like using perfectly black ink to rapidly form a human shape from the feet upward—roughly similar, at least.
Even after it was fully formed, it only resembled a human silhouette; the details weren't properly rendered, making it look like an unfinished doll.
Regardless of its appearance, Galen knew it wasn't actual ink.
It wasn't registering within his sensory range, even though it was inside the area of his Water Flow Manipulation.
'Yeah, just like...'
It looked like mist on the surface, but unlike real mist, it couldn't be controlled—like the fog of the bottomless pit.
Radiant Spear strikes fiercely!
The person who had unleashed the Radiant Spear right off the bat was, of course, Lilia.
"Bishop Myra said that if you're not sure, just hit first and ask questions later!"
"Wise counsel."
Galen, who had just arrived on Lilia's small ship, chimed in. Indeed, a preemptive strike was the path to victory.
"Aaaahhh!"
The black doll twisted its body. A chilling wail echoed out—sounding like the wind or perhaps sobbing. It had no mouth, so it was impossible to tell where the sound was coming from.
"It looks like it's in a lot of pain—super suspicious!"
"Anyone would hurt with a hole in their chest."
"The Miracle of Purification is activating too! That means it's connected to demons!"
"You should've led with that. But seriously, what is that thing? Is there a magic soldier like that? Is it even a magic soldier?"
"Well, magic soldiers come in all sorts of varieties. Maybe there's one that summons weird ghost things like this?"
"Ah, so not the magic soldier itself, but its summon. That makes sense."
Whatever it was, just as the tension was easing because it looked pathetic compared to its dramatic entrance...
Splat!
The writhing doll suddenly crumbled.
The force holding its form together vanished in an instant, causing it to collapse and scatter across the deck.
As Lilia withdrew the holy power from the Radiant Spear, now jobless, she muttered.
"Did we get it?"
She probably meant nothing by it, but Galen felt a sense of foreboding. It seemed Bishop Myra hadn't told her about resurrection spells.
Right then, his Water Flow Manipulation picked up an unnatural flow of water again.
Galen hurriedly maneuvered the boat. The small vessel was pushed back sharply.
Whoosh!
A surging water pillar pierced through the space where the small boat had been moments ago.
Appearing right in front of him, Galen got a clear look.
'Hmm.'
The surrounding seawater wasn't clean, with broken wood fragments and corpses floating around.
Even accounting for that, the water pillar was unnaturally murky—opaque enough that you couldn't see through it.
While Galen was briefly lost in thought, the water pillar, standing rigid like a tentacle, began to bend. Its target: Lilia.
"Whoa?!"
This time, since she didn't mistake it for Galen's magic, Lilia reacted swiftly.
The pillar had immense power, but its speed couldn't keep up with Lilia. Plus, Galen slowed it further just in case.
"Jump on!"
"Got it!"
Lilia easily dodged the horizontally sweeping water pillar by leaping over the deck and kicked off the snapping mast.
She slid toward the stern and dove into the sea precisely where Galen's boat was.
Galen scooped up Lilia and roughly turned the bow. The small boat accelerated.
"The water that ghost thing handles turns murky. I felt resistance when I tried to control it."
"Does the black guy make the water dirty too? I could drink your water, Brother Galen!"
"That's not because I'm pure and clear or anything..."
"Anyway, it wasn't on the ship from the start. How did it get this close?"
"Who knows. Maybe it swam underwater? It feels like something squishy like water would move well even submerged."
As Galen said that, he furrowed his brow.
"Hah, look at this guy."
"Huh?"
Lilia turned to look and immediately understood.
Ahead of the small boat's path, the seawater was jutting up in spikes.
Literally. Like traps set to block a cavalry charge, the sea had clustered into wedge shapes blocking the way.
Galen had been controlling the boat's speed by pushing surrounding water away with Water Flow Manipulation.
Thanks to his control over the nearby sea, they couldn't make it pop up right in front of the boat.
But it only avoided a surprise attack; with those things laid out ahead, he couldn't just charge through carefree like before.
"It can interfere like this too. Never even thought of it."
Galen clicked his tongue and slowed the boat.
Of course, in typical naval battles, ships faster than horses didn't suddenly appear, so no one would create water obstacles for them.
"What do we do? If we turn back, it'll just make more..."
"Lady Lilia, do you see that pirate ship over there?"
"Yes!"
Lilia nodded, following Galen's pointing finger. Her eyesight was actually much better, so she saw it clearer than he did.
"They say the Seven are aboard it."
"Ah, you found them?!"
"If the boss lady commands ghosts, that explains why they're desperately blocking us."
Galen didn't stop or slow the boat completely.
The small vessel, faster than ordinary ships, slid straight toward the traps.
"In other words, charging straight ahead is the best move."
Galen lightly snapped his fingers.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The wedges exploded one after another like bombs.
If you could cluster water into obstacles, it stood to reason you could disperse it to remove them.
Invisible hands of Water Flow Manipulation grabbed and pulverized everything in the way.
Even their ace obstacles only briefly snagged at his pant leg, so the ghost seemed to panic.
Whoosh!
Murky water pillars erupted here and there.
A small ship might shatter, but a dinghy like this wouldn't even hold shape after one hit.
Boom!
Yet whether swung sideways or vertically, not a single pillar hit the small boat.
Every attempt was forcibly deflected, striking only empty water. Waves from the impacts calmed forcibly near the boat.
"Must be unbalanced because it's a magic soldier."
"Unbalanced?"
"Laying out crude obstacles or relentlessly attacking with water pillars despite failing. A proper mage wouldn't waste mana like that. Maybe it sacrificed offerings beforehand, but its mana pool seems superior."
Realizing point and line attacks via traps and pillars weren't working, the ghost opted for an area attack.
Roooar!
A massive wave came crashing, swallowing the entire view ahead.
It rivaled the one Galen had used to flip the pirate ship earlier.
But Galen remained calm. He pressed the small boat straight forward undeterred.
The moment the wave and boat were about to collide head-on...
Sploosh!
A huge hole ripped open in the wall of water the wave formed.
The oncoming surge tore apart left and right, forced open by a gap. The small boat passed through without a single drop touching it.
"Still, my output seems stronger."
"I-I trusted you, but I was a little scared..."
There were no more interferences.
But it was clear the Seven hadn't given up the fight.
The small boat heading leisurely toward the Seven's pirate ship had to slow down again, despite no obstacles.
"Wh-what is that thing?!"
Lilia's scream echoed what she'd said upon first seeing the ghost.
But while that had been pure surprise, this was laced with dismay.
"How much mana does it have to spare?"
Galen looked baffled too.
Blocking the path between their boat and the pirate ship was a giant that seemed to have its lower body in the water, only its upper half exposed.
Not a real creature, but a colossal shape molded from murky water, standing guard over the pirate ship.
Like the earlier ghost, it had an unfinished doll appearance, but it dwarfed the pirate ship, with arms far thicker than the water pillars.
"Sh-shouldn't we really go around this time? We just need to kill the magic soldier user."
"If we don't have to clash head-on, no need. But..."
Galen trailed off at Lilia's serious suggestion.
"Magic soldier users are usually a bit unhinged. If they go kamikaze, can you take them out before that monster pulverizes the pirate ship?"
"...Not certain. We don't even know the Seven's exact skills."
"So we need to pin that thing down first. We'll dodge if the situation allows."
"Can you... do it?"
"Grabbing it like the water pillars might be risky. Too big."
"Then..."
"We'll match its size."
Galen smirked and casually placed his left hand over the boat's side.
The bracelet on his wrist slithered off and sank into the sea.
The spirit submerged and swam ahead of the small boat.
'Maximum size.'
Galen issued the command. The spirit began growing rapidly.
He could mimic it by gathering water with Water Flow Manipulation, but the spirit maintained its form without mana cost.
For a slugfest, deploying the spirit was advantageous in every way.
"Not my style to flex brute force like this."
The spirit, swelling into a massive water orb, shifted shape.
Into a form like the murky giant. But clear.
"Whoa, wow!"
"If a mere magic soldier can do it, I can't lose face by failing."
All the spirit could do was store, release, and hold inputted shapes.
Forming it humanoid didn't grant auto-combat.
But manual combat was possible. Because it was water. Via Water Flow Manipulation.
"Now, whose giant is tougher?"
Spirit Creation
Clear Giant Form | Maximum Output Engaged
The clear giant advanced as if floating forward. A fist flew toward the murky giant, whose reaction seemed delayed in panic.
Bang!
The collision of massive water masses exploded.
Both being water, both shattered. The clear one's fist, the murky one's forearm.
But recovery speeds differed.
Unlike the murky giant, which had to draw seawater to rebuild, the clear one used its stored internal water instantly.
And even mid-recovery, the clear giant swung its other fist.
Bang!
The murky giant lagged in speed too. Galen's water control output was superior from the start.
Plus, it wasn't scooping water bit by bit; manipulating an existing spirit minimized waste.
"Ugh, it's ridiculously heavy."
Of course, the sheer volume made it burdensome even for Galen. His Water Flow Manipulation mana was plummeting.
But the ghost seemed more strained. The murky giant, unable to recover as fast as it broke, kept shrinking.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Anyone could see the clear giant dominating. The murky one, now less than half size, looked pathetic.
It finally couldn't hold and took the finishing blow. Without signs of recovery, the murky giant vanished.
That was the moment.
"Huh?"
A pitch-black ghost suddenly burst from the murky giant's remnants.
It clung to the recovering clear giant's fist and melted into it.
Then the transparent fist began turning black rapidly.
Incredibly fast. It spread from fist to arm, aiming for the torso in seconds.
"Ah?!"
Lilia gasped in surprise. Galen's eyebrow twitched.
"So that's why the water was murky."
Not just from the ghost's touch.
Apparently, the ghost's true power was infiltrating water and then controlling it.
The clear giant was no longer clear. It trembled faintly, looking unstable.
"I-it's okay, right?"
Lilia anxiously watched, fearing it might turn on them, then glanced back at Galen's silence.
"Brother?"
"Yes? Oh, sorry. Got lost in thought. What was that?"
"Is that thing okay?"
"Ah, yes. Just some command interference."
The trembling arm of the giant slowly lifted with effort.
The next instant, a massive water pillar swung horizontally.
Crack!
The pirate ship's mast snapped in one hit.
"I told you I'm stronger."
Galen chuckled.