Chapter 38

Third Report On Undersea Monsters The ocean floor is uncharted territory. Along with the issue of breathing underwater, you have to deal with atmospheric pressure and monsters. Even mages who can use water elemental spirit magic to venture beneath the surface never go to the ocean floor. I’ve been down here for at least twenty minutes. Guided by the group of mermen, Sanya and I have at last arrived…at an underwater town. Crude houses fashioned from rocks and seaweed line the dimly lit seabed, stretching far into the distance. The town is on a much smaller scale than any human town, but the very fact that it exists on the ocean floor is staggering. Contrary to its somewhat mysterious atmosphere, the town’s residents are all strange-looking. Despite the fact that they are intrinsically bottom-feeders, the innumerable emotionless mermen swarming here are simply disgusting. Still snug under my arm, Sanya stares in amazement. “Whoa, what the heck…? Are mermen really this clever?” Even mermen are smart enough to use simple tools. I’ve never seen anything like it, but it’s not outside the realm of possibility for them to establish towns. However, the scale of this place is gigantic, and moreover— “They’re coexisting with other monsters…?” Sanya whispers, flabbergasted, upon noticing a gigantic monster lurking among the shadows between the rocks. It’s a giant octopus with innumerable tentacles, shining a noxious bright green. I don’t know the monster’s name, but judging from its life force, it’s as strong as the giant squid we fought on our boat journey to Cloudburst. Its slimy tentacles writhe, and its proportionately small eyes hone in on me. However, I’m not worried it will attack. The octopus is leagues more powerful than any merman. If anything, they’re more likely to be this monster’s dinner. Following our guide, we pass right in front of the giant octopus, but it simply watches us go by. The mermen aren’t concerned whatsoever. The merman leader I annihilated wouldn’t have stood a chance against this creature. How the hell did they tame it? The farther we progress, the more heterogeneous the colony becomes. There are plenty of mermen still about, but other breeds of monsters are also greater in number. Some are especially fiendish monsters known to attack humans and demons alike. There are krakens and sea serpents—sea creatures that could sink a ship by themselves—but they’re all completely docile. And they’re not alone. Krakens and sea serpents lead solitary lives. They’re not the sort of opponent you can talk sense into, and I can’t imagine any mermen trying their hand at negotiating with them, either. They’re mortal enemies. Can they even communicate with each other? “…Boss… This looks like a bad sign, don’cha think?” “…” How should we annihilate them all? The swarm is much larger than I expected. Even the mermen just passing by number at least one or two hundred strong. Including the other monsters present, the total military capacity required would be astronomical. Individual mermen pose no threat whatsoever, but eradicating this many of them is a real problem. I don’t have any options for attacking multiple targets at once, and casting a barrier to rope the whole swarm in would be impossible. However, that doesn’t mean we’re completely out of prospects. Given the massive size of their swarm, someone has to be leading them—someone with sagacious wit and charisma eclipsing any peon merman. Take the leader down, and they’ll collapse into a riotous mob. As I walk along and consider our options, the merman guiding us stops in front of a building bigger than the rest. Unlike the other structures, this one was built with a high degree of technical skill. The building has been dug out from the craggy mountains towering from the ocean floor, and it resembles a sanctuary. It’s not likely that the mermen built it. The structure shows some deterioration, but the pillars and stairs are smooth, far exceeding merman engineering capacity. Due to its proximity with the sunken temple, this place could easily be a product of the same civilization. The merman guide leading us cries out, clearly indicating for us to follow him. “…You’ve really got guts, boss— Yow!” I tighten the arm that’s holding her and squeeze to shut her up. The average merman cannot comprehend human language, but we should be careful just in case. “You will be a sacrifice for our kind to flourish.” Now I’m pretending to be both a hero and a merman—I don’t even know who I am at this point. “Y-you’re kidding, right?! H-help me, Ameliaaa! Eep—” Sanya lets out a stifled cry. Remaining silent, I swing my mace down on the merman approaching behind us and smash him to bits. My mace slams into the ground and the entire ocean rumbles. A putrid scent billows into the water with a cloud of blood before dissipating. Maybe he was just curious, or maybe he was testing me, but all I know is that someone behind me just touched my sacrifice. The merman guide leading us turns around in a flurry and falls prostrate, bowing repeatedly. I can sense the surrounding mermen examining me covertly from a distance. Makes sense—they’re animals after all. The leader of the pack is expected to be the strongest. I need to be recognized as the most powerful of them all. In the next instant, I kick the merman guide in the stomach. I kick him only once, but he’s sent flying. Must be our difference in level. He ends up splayed out against a rock wall and falls silent. He shouldn’t be dead—I went easy on him. “…Boss, you seriously call yourself a priest?” Shut up. Maybe you ought to try playing pretend sometime. Another merman stumbles in front of us and takes the leader’s place without batting an eye. I may not understand the subtle nuances among mermen, but this one’s distinguishing trait is a slightly sharper dorsal fin than the other one’s. He cries out at me unintelligibly, and I nod in response. Apparently, he’s the new guide. Following him, we proceed inside the sanctuary. It’s quiet; there aren’t many monsters inside. The hall isn’t particularly wide, and a number of long, narrow doors line both sides. Judging from this hall and the height of the ceiling, whoever created this sanctuary must have been a medium-size race akin to humans and mermen. This place gives a lasting impression of desolation rather than royalty. The hall is adorned with sparkling stones here and there, and I can see the occasional odd statue and rusted metal vessels; it’s like this is some sort of museum. After more than ten minutes of following our merman guide without incident, we finally stop in front of one of the doors. The gigantic black door is the type that opens from both sides. However, two monsters block its path. I stop dead in my tracks at their appearance. The merman guide doesn’t wait for me and steps in front of them. The monsters are aquatic demi-humans but different from mermen. They have dragon-like features, with scaly faces and shining golden eyes. Unlike mermen, they wear light armor that’s smooth and blue, and they wield pristine ivory-white spears in their hands. They’re aquatic beings called dragonewts. Sanya is also shocked, staring wide-eyed. This is a breed with the head of a dragon and the body of a human, characteristics that lead them to be known as seadragon knights. These demi-humans are leagues stronger than mermen; they have high intelligence and robust physical frames. They’re closer to humans than monsters but have violent temperaments—there are hardly any examples of successful negotiations with this race. Every member is a warrior, and encountering one on land is sure to entail a fearsome battle. That said, they are very few in number, so it’s rare to actually run into one. As such, I’ve never encountered any myself. If I stuffed and mounted one and sold him to some rich scumbag, I could probably make enough gold to hire another set of mercenaries equal to Rabi and Sanya as a set. In other words, they’re worth one Stey. Basic arithmetic means they’re actually worth two Steys—one for each of them—but selling both at once would probably mean a discount. So…probably about 1.7 Steys? At any rate—these seadragon knights are tough as nails. Their golden eyes shift from our merman guide to me. Dragonewts are tough enough to begin with, but these two aren’t letting their guard down one bit, even though we’re all mermen. A strong life force resonates from them, and their stance shows no sign of weakness. This race possesses its own particular abilities, and these dragonewts definitely have combat experience. And there are two of them here. Taking on both at once wouldn’t simply double the required effort—it would be a real headache. At the very least, they would never go down as easily as the mermen. For now, I’ve decided to give up on the taxidermy idea. They should be thankful for that. I quell my animosity and look toward the seadragon knights and their glassy eyes. At the end of the day, I am a priest, and it’s not my intention to battle them head-on. Thankfully, the seadragon knights seem to have a cooperative agreement with the mermen. I’ll aim for their blind spots and finish them off one by one. I can hear Sanya growling. She hardly has any equipment with her; she left behind her bow, likely because it encumbers swimming, and her throwing knives, too. Her exposed abdomen is equipped with a thin belt holding only one knife in its holster, a precarious weapon up against the dragonewts’ spears. But really—dragonewts? I never expected to encounter any here… They are few in number to begin with and are a very proud race. Why would they establish relations with mermen, a low-ranking species? This situation requires thorough examination. I’ll have to reconsider my previous extermination plan. The merman guide makes a series of strange cries. One of the seadragon knights, standing slightly to his left, simply listens without responding. Suddenly, the seadragon knight on his right draws closer. As a merman, I’m on the tall side, but this seadragon knight is blessed with an even more statuesque physique. His weapon isn’t crudely fashioned like the mermen’s, either. Pressure racks my entire being. Dragons are some of the strongest creatures from birth. Dragonewts aren’t quite on the same level, but to make up for it, they have hands to grip weapons with, as well as special abilities. In terms of strength, they’re on par with silverwolves. “This sucks…” Sanya glowers at me and sighs. However, her tail is wagging and whipping against my arm. She still wants to fight, even given her current disadvantages? I truly don’t understand anyone that obsessed with battle. The seadragon knight looks down at Sanya. Foam bubbles from his mouth as he suddenly produces a deep voice. “A mermaid?” That’s human speech. Can this thing really comprehend the human tongue? Did it respond to Sanya’s voice? And anyway, mermaid? Sanya looks nothing like one. She has a furry tail, for crying out loud. I’m not doing anything to hide her, so Sanya’s long, lithe legs and silver tail sticking out from her skimpy swimsuit are in plain view. Nonetheless, it seems the seadragon knight thinks Sanya is a mermaid. …Oh, I guess this is an effect of the mermaid armor… I’m surrounded by idiots. “Our king will be pleased.” “K-king? Who’s that?!” Sanya says, trembling, but the seadragon knight ignores her and turns toward me. He narrows his sharp gaze and looks me over repeatedly. “You’re quite tall…for a merman warrior.” The merman armor does resemble a merman, but if you look closely, it’s obviously fake. Its scales are coated in metal and the dorsal fin was appropriated from an actual sea serpent. I’m able to fool fish with it, but dragons could be another story… Perhaps I should keep my mouth shut? It would be a real headache if my merman armor got destroyed while I’m here under the sea. I’ll end up having to try the Holy Warrior method of soldiering through an underwater stroll. However, there are two of these knights, and I heard the one say something I can’t quickly forget: “Our king.” The king of the seadragon knights, clearly the leader of their colony. Until I confirm his existence, I can’t let my identity slip. Do I have some sort of technique I can use to continue to fool them? Or should I kill them both before they have a chance to report me, and look for this king on my own? It’s quite obvious these two are gatekeepers. That means their king likely resides past the door they guard. The seadragon knight has drawn within a few steps of me. At this distance, I can definitely pull off a preemptive strike. However, in my current state, without any buffs, even a critical hit to his blind spot probably won’t one-shot him. At any rate, the biggest problem is his counterpart, just a few meters away. He will retaliate the instant I attack first. And if he did choose to retreat, that would prove even more of a nuisance. Maybe Sanya could take out the closer one? But I don’t have a way to tell her that, and she doesn’t have an appropriate weapon. Even if she had her bow, the seadragon knights have their vital points covered by armor and helms, so it’s unclear if she could one-shot them, either. Maybe I should lure them closer to me? Would they both come within my mace’s reach if they suspected something? A million questions race through my mind. Time inches past. The dragonewt continues to stare at me. Then his partner suddenly calls out to him and he turns around. The pressure on me vanishes. It seems they’ve finished conversing with our merman guide. The guide stands by my side, looking up at me. Maybe he convinced the seadragon knights of something? “Very well, then. Lock that mermaid up in a cell and show this newcomer inside.” “Wait, what?! What the hell do you plan to do with me?!” Sanya erupts from under my arm and squirms relentlessly in protest. I squeeze her even harder. I’m not sure if I should follow along and let them take Sanya with them. She wouldn’t have any problems escaping if up against only dragonewts, but if they tie her up, then that changes things. No—handing her over to them, defenseless, when I don’t know what their intentions are, is a risk I’m not willing to take. I adjust the timbre of my voice and produce in a guttural growl: “No. This is my sacrifice. I won’t hand her over to anyone.” “?!” The dragonewts go wide-eyed. They must be astonished. I would be, too, if a merman said that to me. Their sharpened gazes fall on me. Their alertness, which was already high, has now skyrocketed. “You can speak?” “…I’ll say it again. I refuse to hand her over to you—she is for the benefit of the merman race.” “You dare…defy us?!” In the swiftest possible of movements, the pair of seadragon knights turn the tip of their spears toward us. The air grows heavy, and our merman guide begins to freak out. I raise my mace and point it at the dragonewts, making clear my intention to do battle. An official member of the Church would be one thing, but there’s no way I’ll let a rental like Sanya come into harm’s way, either. Issues of trust spread quickly, like wildfire. Once I get my hands on some gold, I intend to rent even more mercenaries. I turn my murderous intent toward the dragonewts, honed like a razor-sharp blade. Their vigilance spikes even further. “Who is he? Is he really a merman?!” “His face is completely calm… You there—could it be that you have divine protection from an evil god!” “What?! Boss, is that true?!” I’m gonna kick your ass one of these days, Sanya. The dragonewts slowly start to retreat. Our merman guide tries to hold me back, and I drop-kick him across the room. Seeing the merman smashed against the wall, the two dragonewts give a cry of horror. “Look what he did to his companion…!!” “What a violent brute… Is this the power of a believer in the evil god Lucief Arept?!” “What?! Boss, is that true?!” This is already starting to piss me off. Let’s just blame everything on this evil god. Lucief Arept is the God of Darkness, a deity oppositional to the God of Order. He is an enemy of Ahz Gried and provided divine protection to Zarpahn, the vampire I fought in the Great Forest of the Vale. I’ve eliminated countless numbers of Lucief’s followers, and I know exactly how to deal with them. “All glory to Lucief Arept.” “W-wait!” The battle commences. At this rate, even if one of them gets away, I can simply blame it all on this evil god. I anticipate this might lead to some internal strife among my fellow clergy. I ignore the dragonewts’ spluttering and raise my mace high, ready to step in. Before I can swing, the door behind them opens. “Cease, merman warrior.” A cool, velvety voice completely different from the dragonewts’ resounds throughout the hall. The dragonewts instantly lose all interest in us and quickly return to their positions on both sides of the door. I step back a few paces and raise my guard. A tall demi-human appears from the other side of the black door. The male demi-human is cloaked in a lacquer-black robe that looks like it was spun from pure darkness, with light-blue hair and two curved horns that protrude from the sides of his head. His face closely resembles a human’s, but his eyes flash a deep crimson. I don’t know what otherworldly blood he’s mixed with, but I can see a trace of scales peeking out from the neck of his robe. Although his face appears human, from the neck down, he is clearly something other. The feet visible below his armor are covered in reptilian scales, and his clawed hands are gripping a massive black staff that’s as tall as he is. “M-my liege…!” “He’s dangerous!” “I don’t mind.” I can tell from his form that he has a strong life force. His wide-open eyes practically sear me with pure evil. He steps toward me and I can see the claws on his feet under his robe hem scraping the ground unnervingly. His eerie reptilian pupils bore into mine. I take another step back in spite of myself. Sanya is also at a loss for words. An inhuman chuckle escapes his sanguine lips. I just barely manage to restrain my arm from reaching out. I can see a number of seadragon knights in full military regalia standing past the door behind him. “All ocean dwellers are my friends and my subjects. Know your place, merman warrior. Come, acknowledge me.” Arrogance, a smile rife with pride, and a vivacious life force that suits his demeanor unusually well. I know his name. That is to say, every reputable mercenary does. “The sea demonHeljarl?! What…what is the right-hand man of the Demon Lord doing here?” The price of at least two hundred and fifty Steys has been spent across the Kingdom on this single demon. The root cause of humanity’s loss over control of the oceans. I know I can kill him. But why is this abomination here in the first place, within reach of my mace, which could pulverize his head into mush?! I’m utterly overcome by the inanity of the situation when the two seadragon knight guards leap toward me. They twirl their spears, pointed directly at me. They don’t make a sound, instead focusing their bloodlust into their weapons. I smash both of them down in an instant with my mace. I’m acting in neither haste nor fear. These creatures are fast and strong. But they’re nothing compared to Felsa, the werebeast I fought in Golem Valley. I can feel a shudder of elation rising in my brain as I realize I’m face-to-face with this prized bounty, which all of humanity yearns for. Is this…God telling me—to murder him?! Yes, there is no question about it. He’s saying, Kill him, and don’t leave a speck of dust behind! I could liberate the oceans. I could! I wouldn’t need to bribe Stey for money ever again! The evil staring me in the face is nothing but a key to improving my financial prospects. His life force is truly formidable—but it’s nothing compared to the calamity he’s perpetrated. I leap back a few steps to avoid the whirlwind of spears flying at me from left and right. Their wide tips slice through the wall like butter and continue to aim for me. The merman armor is rife with blind spots, but the wrath emanating from the two seadragon knight guards is more than enough to reveal their movements. I’m not sure what’s irked them, but it’s actually a godsend. Any opponent who comes at me with brute strength is a sitting duck. If they’re weaker than I am to begin with, then all the more. I can kill him. Slay him dead. If he’s that arrogant, he’s done for. After I defeat these two, all that’s left is him behind them. There’s no way Heljarl expects that I’ll attack him. I’ll pretend to counterstrike the guards and obliterate him in one fell swoop. A spear thrust scrapes by, just in front of my eyes. The perfect opportunity. As I move in for the counterattack, Heljarl, who’s been watching us silently, suddenly raises his voice. “That’s enough. Both of you—halt.” The dragonewts cease attacking all at once. Their spearheads, now motionless, remain aimed at me. Falling in line, I also come to a stop. If only he would have waited a few more moments to stop them, I could have attacked. Heljarl starts to clap nonchalantly. He parts his lips and says in an almost seductive manner, “Merman warrior, I will forgive you for calling me ‘sea demon.’ You and I are kin.” Beyond the large black door lies a throne room. It was likely an altar originally; the pillars and small staircase leading up to it are resplendent and symmetrical. A functional throne made of light-blue stone rests on a pedestal to the rear. But above all else, I find myself swallowing a lump in my throat as I count the sheer number of seadragon knights standing at attention in the spacious room. There are over a dozen of them—a real hassle on land and nearly unrivaled underwater. It’s a number large enough to deter the human race from entering even if they were aware of this stronghold to begin with.