Bellatrix and the Adventurers
Bellatrix and the Adventurers
A body shaped like a shark's torso with limbs crudely lopped off and stuck on — you might think it looks almost comical from the shape alone. But at three meters tall, radiating sheer intimidation, it was impossible to laugh.
"Let's stop here for a moment. Getting too close to that thing could be dangerous."
Bella faced the shark creature on the flooded street together with her escorts. A moment later, she realized that had been the right call.
"Wh-what the hell is this thing?!"
"A fishman? I've never seen one that looks like a shark..."
The city guards patrolling the streets rushed out, surrounding the shark creature with spears raised.
"Who are you! If you can speak the Continental Language, state your identity!"
"Krrrrrrrrrrrr."
"Th-this isn't working. Subdue it."
When they demanded its identity, all they got back was a growl dripping with killing intent. The already on-edge guards thrust their spears straight at the shark creature. The moment five spears were about to touch its body, something astonishing happened.
KSHAAAAAAAAH━!
A whirlpool surged up from the water-choked ground and enveloped the shark creature. The swirling vortex, spinning with overwhelming force, shredded everything it touched like a grinder. The spears were shredded, and then the whirlpool expanded its reach, grinding up the guards as well.
"AAAAARGHHH!!"
"M-my arm...!"
The patrol guards were torn apart in an instant.
After the whirlpool vanished, the shark creature revealed itself and glared straight at Bella. Its words were crisp and clear:
"Krrruh. You're Bellatrix, you wench. I heard you're the woman set to inherit Gjallarhorn. Letting you live would be a grave threat to us fishmen. Die, for the future of the fishmen."
Its shark jaws gaped wide, and a human voice spilled out.
Bella was startled by the creature's words, but she couldn't afford to freeze in fear. The reason was unclear, but the shark creature was trying to kill her. She had no intention of dying without understanding why.
"...Who exactly are you?"
"I am Gallod, bodyguard to the Great Chief who rules the fishmen. You'll die anyway, so I suppose I can at least share my name!"
The monster named Gallod gazed at Bella as if dispensing some generous favor. Yet it clearly had no further interest in conversation. Gallod strode over the water-covered ground as if walking on solid earth, closing in on Bella step by step.
Splash, splash!
The sound of water churning rang out.
The shark creature was drawing near!
Just then, the red-haired swordswoman among Bella's escorts drew her curved blade and leapt forward.
"Who the hell do you think you're talking about killing! She's the one who pays me and Luke! She's the one who's going to look after our newlywed home!!"
Rebecca charged recklessly, but Bella didn't try to stop her. Over the past fortnight together, she'd assessed that Rebecca's skill was outstanding among third-rate martial artists. And besides, martial artists as a breed didn't die easily under normal circumstances.
'I need to measure that monster's strength. Rebecca is a martial artist — she should be able to protect herself.'
Martial artists didn't just use mana to boost muscle strength and physical durability. By injecting mana into their sensory organs, they could enhance sight, smell, hearing — all five senses — letting them intuit an incoming attack from any direction and evade it.
"Krrruh. Impudent wench."
SHWAAAAAAAH-!
Gallod summoned a whirlpool beneath the charging Rebecca's feet. Just as the vortex was taking shape, Rebecca kicked hard off the ground and retreated. The fully-formed whirlpool chased after her fiercely, but Rebecca evaded with acrobatic movements, closing the distance to Gallod.
"Haaahp-!"
But closing the distance was all she could manage.
Rebecca swung her curved blade, but she couldn't land a hit on Gallod. Each time, water surged up around Gallod, obscuring her vision and blocking the blade.
"Ngh!"
It was as though every drop of water blanketing the streets served as Gallod's shield. Even while fighting Rebecca, Gallod advanced in silence, step by step toward Bella.
Each long, steady stride closing the distance sent chills of overwhelming dread.
Splash, splash.
"You're wasting your time, red-haired wench."
"Huh?!"
SHWAAAAAAAH-!
A colossal mass of water surged upward and slammed into Rebecca as a towering wave. Swept up in the wave, Rebecca kicked off the ground and leapt into the air, barely breaking free of the water.
"Sis, it's dangerous!"
"Rebecca!"
Bella realized the gap in their power was overwhelming. Even if the nun standing by joined the fight, they would all be annihilated. She wanted to call for reinforcements from the city guards or adventurers, but that was impossible.
"Churrrrrrrrrr!! We've arrived—!!"
"Kill everything in sight!"
Fishmen began bursting out of the streets. They hadn't infiltrated the city through the gates or the beach. They'd opened the drains connected to the underground waterways and were pouring out onto the streets in droves.
"F-fishmen, Vice Guild Master!"
"They came in through the underground waterways, not the gates."
It was an infiltration route only fishmen who could breathe underwater could use. Count Cloud had said he'd reinforced the defenses at the gates and the beach. That left the city with fewer guards, exposed to the fishmen's assault.
"Churrrrrrrrrr!!"
"It's Captain Gallod! We must follow him!"
A unit of trident-wielding fishmen came to reinforce Gallod. Continuing the fight any longer was impossible.
Bella ordered Rebecca to retreat.
"Rebecca! We have to run! You too, Kate!"
"V-Vice Guild Master! Where should we go?"
"First, we shake off the fishmen, then we'll figure it out."
The moment Rebecca returned to her side, Bella sprinted along the flooded street with her two escorts.
"Stop right theeeeere!"
Countless fishmen pursued Bella's party with savage intensity.
Even with water up to their ankles, the fishmen moved as fast as if they were on dry land. Just as Bella, who had the lowest stamina, was about to be caught—
"O Baldur who dwells in the heavens! Grant us a holy barrier!"
Reciting a holy incantation, Kate threw herself between Bella and the fishmen.
In that instant, a translucent barrier materialized, blocking the fishmen's advance.
Thunk-thunk-thunk-thunk! Countless spears stabbed into it, but the barrier didn't buckle easily.
[Holy Barrier].
It was the holy spell Kate had spent the past fortnight mastering. She'd said she learned it to fill the gap left by Luke, the party leader, while he was away. That holy spell had just saved Bella's life.
"Kate!"
"I-I can't hold it for long! Hurry, keep moving forward!"
Barricaded in the narrow alleyway, Kate blocked the fishmen.
"You two! I'll take a separate carriage and head to the temple later! You two go on ahead! I'll lure these fish away!"
"Kate! Will you be okay?"
"H-haha. I may not look it, but I'm really good at running away."
Acting as bait to shake off the pursuers.
Bella had never imagined that the blonde nun would volunteer for that role.
'Oh.'
When it came to things like coffee errands—
This was the same nun who always vanished without a trace the moment you tried to hand her chores!
Now she was trying to disappear in a decidedly good way!
"Let's go, Rebecca!"
"Yep."
Bella ran with Rebecca, escaping the line of sight of the pursuing fishmen.
Finally, they managed to reach the villa by the beach. Bella's villa was built on high ground in anticipation of flooding, so it hadn't been submerged yet. They hurriedly opened the gate and entered the garden, where they found Hannah, who had already packed the essential luggage.
A shrunken carriage was tucked among the belongings.
"You've returned, Miss Bella. Knowing you would come, I made preparations to depart in advance. I also issued evacuation orders to the servants. I've heard that the fishmen are now attacking the city."
Inside the empty villa, Hannah had remained behind alone. True to form for a capable secretary, she'd evacuated the servants beforehand and was waiting for her mistress. Relieved, Bella asked her,
"The streets are flooded, water's up to our ankles. The fog is so thick I can barely see ahead. Could we possibly take a carriage in this situation?"
"Naturally, that's impossible. With the fishmen swarming on top of that, even a lifelong coachman would end up in an accident."
Sadly, a perfectly sensible answer came back.
Bella terribly missed the horned mage who wasn't here right now.
If that mage were by her side, they could have brushed common sense aside a bit.
The empty spot beside her felt achingly hollow.
"If Luke were here, would it have been possible?"
"If we had a mage who could control water, he could have opened a path. However, isn't Mr. Luke still undergoing his trial at the temple?"
"...Yes, I suppose so."
With travel by carriage now impossible, they had to find another escape route.
"We have no choice. We'll move on foot along the beach. The goal remains the same: escape the city and reach the Temple of Nain Gard."
"How do we get over the wall?"
"We can leave that to Hannah! She can use earth magic to climb to high places. She can even scale the city wall. If we leave right now, we might not be too late... Huh?"
Bella tried to lead her party straight out of the villa.
But someone was blocking the villa's entrance.
"Krrrrrrrr."
It was the very monster they were certain they'd shaken off.
While Kate had drawn its attention in the alleyway, they'd fled to a place no one could see. Yet Gallod appeared at the villa with an unhurried gait, as if he'd known Bella would end up here.
"Running is useless. Once I've caught your scent of blood, I can chase you anywhere. I'm talking about you, red-haired wench."
"S-scent of blood?"
Bella's eyes went wide as she stared at Rebecca. It was true — from the clash with Gallod, blood was trickling down Rebecca's right arm. She'd never dreamed he could track them using the scent of blood as a clue.
"I'm sorry, Vice Guild Master."
Rebecca clenched her teeth and gripped her curved blade. Her expression was full of guilt, as if she believed being chased was entirely her fault. Before Bella could even think of comforting her, Rebecca faced off against Gallod.
"I'll hold him off! Get away! I'm wounded, so I'll stay behind!"
"Who said anything about running away? From now on, no one inside this villa can flee anymore. I'm getting tired of playing around."
Gallod assumed a prayer-like pose with his webbed hands. It was the distinctive posture fishmen used to maximize their water-manipulating ability. At that very moment, all the seawater flowing through the vicinity surged toward the villa.
"I'll trap you inside a whirlpool."
SHWAAAAAAAH━!!
The seawater, sweeping in like a tidal wave, turned into a gargantuan whirlpool that wrapped around the villa and raged violently. Gallod's claim that no one could escape the villa was true. If anyone tried to break through the whirlpool with their bare body, they'd be ground to pieces instantly.
Whoosh!
Rebecca lunged forward, aiming for a split-second opening to strike Gallod's neck. But Gallod, frozen in his prayer pose, didn't flinch an inch — instead, he counterattacked. In the fleeting instant before the blade reached his neck, a whirlpool erupted beneath Rebecca's feet.
"Ngh—!"
Caught in the vortex, Rebecca was hurled backward and tumbled across the ground. His water manipulation was far faster than before. It was a speed a third-rate martial artist could never match.
The moment they were trapped inside that enormous whirlpool, it was all over.
There was no way to escape that shark-like monster.
"......Ah!"
Bella slumped down onto the moisture-laden garden floor.
She'd never imagined she might lose her life in a place like this.
Gallod strode toward Bella, his hands still clasped. Rebecca swung her curved blade, Hannah fired support spells, but there was no stopping the beast.
It was the moment they thought all hope was lost.
The instant she thought they were as good as dead—
A scream rang out from somewhere.
The scream came from outside the huge whirlpool encircling the villa. It was so thunderous that it pierced through the roaring water and reached inside.
"KYAAAAAAAAHHH!!"
Within that scream, one phrase rang out, sharp and clear.
"Freeze!"
A male voice, one she recognized.
Crackle—.
In that instant, the raging whirlpool froze solid.
Ice spread from a single point, and in the blink of an eye, it completely encased the watery vortex.
What now surrounded Bella's party was no whirlpool.
It was a towering wall of ice.
Someone on the outside shattered the ice.
A blunt weapon slammed into the ice wall with immense force, blasting open a huge hole.
Ice fragments cascaded down, and a figure emerged through the breach.
It was a mage holding a pure white quarterstaff.
"Who are you!"
Gallod bellowed with savage fury.
The answer came at once.
"Someone who's going to smash your head in."