Volume 7, Chapter 24 – Sea Serpent

By the time we returned to town, it had already fallen into a state of panic.

Even from this far away, I could see massive splashes rising from the direction of the harbor.

Water was shooting through the air as though someone were firing a gigantic water gun. That must be the Sea Serpent’s Water Breath I’d heard rumors about.

“Fiene-sama! There are injured people!”

“Yes. Healing!”

While being carried by Chris-san, I cast Healing Magic on every injured person we came across.

Some had tripped and been trampled while fleeing, and the closer we got to the harbor, the more people we found injured by falling debris.

All around us, I could see people trying to rescue those buried under the rubble.

Leaving them behind, we ran straight for the harbor, and the silhouette of the Sea Serpent gradually grew larger.

How should I put it… it was just… a huge snake.

It had black and white stripes, and, uh, yeah. It was big.

As for just how big—it was about the same size as the snake we nearly lost to in the abandoned village deep in the Jinsha Forest… no, it might even have been bigger.

“Fiene-sama. The Sea Serpent possesses poison in its fangs.”

“I understand.”

Rеаd oո ΚatRеαdinɡСafе

That said, if something that huge bites you, you’re absolutely not surviving regardless of whether there’s poison or not.

Finally, we arrived at the harbor.

The moment it spotted us, the Sea Serpent unleashed a relentless Water Breath.

Calmly, I deployed a Barrier to block the attack.

“Lumia-dono! I request your support!”

As Shizuku-san set Lu-chan down inside the Barrier, she closed the distance in one burst, rushing toward the Sea Serpent, which was firing its Water Breath from the very edge of the harbor quay.

Not to be outdone, Chris-san leaped out right after her.

“Mashiro!”

Responding to Lu-chan’s voice, Mashiro-chan unleashed a Wind Blade at the Sea Serpent. The blade failed to pierce the Sea Serpent’s scales, but it succeeded in drawing its attention.

Realizing it was under attack, the Sea Serpent looked at us and unleashed an enormous Water Breath.

“It seems this Barrier alone is enough for this level of attack.”

I simply stood there and let the Barrier take the Water Breath.

Naturally, those of us inside remained unscathed.

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“I shall slice you into rounds!”

Taking advantage of the opening, Shizuku-san, who had closed in, delivered a flash of Kirinagi.

In the next instant, a tremendous sound echoed, as if metal had been sliced.

“Haha. You are quite hard.”

With that, Shizuku-san quickly retreated, and a split second later, the Sea Serpent’s massive fangs lunged at the spot where she had been standing.

“Haaah!”

Chris-san launched an attack on the lowered head.

Putting all her weight behind a jumping thrust, Chris-san pierced the Sea Serpent’s right eye!

Chris-san twisted her sword with a hard wrench, yanked it free, and leaped back.

Its eye was injured, and it was bleeding from where Shizuku-san’s attack had landed.

Their teamwork was perfect. At this rate, maybe we can take down the Sea Serpent?

Just as I was thinking that, the Sea Serpent retreated into the sea, only to rear its head again from roughly the middle of the harbor.

And then, of all things, it started wildly spraying Water Breath in every direction!

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“Eh?”

“Is it… aiming to destroy the town?”

“How dare it! But we can’t interfere over there…”

“Mashiro’s Wind Blade didn’t work, so I doubt my arrows will either.”

Hmm. This is a problem. It’s about a hundred meters away from here, and Shizuku-san and Chris-san can’t exactly run on water.

Right. I’ve got it.

“Barrier.”

I cast a Barrier around the Sea Serpent to immobilize it.

I deployed it so that it completely enclosed the Sea Serpent from the seabed upward, so for now, attacks shouldn’t be able to get through, and the Sea Serpent shouldn’t be able to get out.

“This should prevent any further damage, so let’s think about how to defeat it.”

“Haha. As expected. Can you move it while it’s trapped like that?”

Eh? How would that even work? Can I do that?

Maybe if I just tell it to move?

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“I’ll try.”

Move! Move toward us!

“Ugh, it’s heavy… This seems a bit impossible. I can move the Barrier itself, but I can’t move whatever’s inside along with it.”

“Is that so.”

“Fiene-sama. Look at that.”

The Sea Serpent, trapped inside my Barrier, was frantically trying to break the Barrier with its Water Breath.

Of course, a breath of that level wouldn’t make my Barrier budge.

As a result, water was steadily accumulating inside the Barrier.

“Um, the Sea Serpent is a snake, right?”

“That should be the case.”

“Which means…”

“If it stays submerged like that, it will suffocate.”

“Eeeeh.”