Book 14 Chapter 14
Platinum Mercenary Group
In the northern part of the Empire (4)
Theories regarding monsters are divided. Some say they are ancient beasts from before the advent of the <Ones Who Came>, while others say they are beasts corrupted by the influence of the Abyss, like Sval. The Papacy put an end to this dispute by announcing that it was [both]. Regardless…
It is important that there is no problem in legally and freely beating up monsters. As they only harm people, it was generally accepted that [the only good monster is a dead monster].
The monster that indiscriminately beat up salmon was called a [Snakehead].
This creature, seemingly sprung from a madman's imagination, resembled a snakehead fish at first glance, but it was 10 meters long and covered in countless mouths, making it incredibly hideous.
Since salmon sashimi and eyeballs were truly delicious, it was unforgivable for a mere creature to monopolize them.
Lista seemed to consider this monster snakehead subjugation an adventure and was excited.
She boarded a fishing boat with idiots who didn't value their lives, headed upstream, and then clanged gongs wildly. The monster snakehead, whose hunting grounds had been invaded, couldn't help but be enraged.
It seemed to be trying to suppress its anger and focus on preying on salmon, but when Lista began to sing, its patience seemed to reach its limit.
This was a very natural reaction, as Lista's singing ability was truly dreadful. By the way, this was my strategy, and its success filled me with immense satisfaction.
And finally, a huge shadow rapidly expanding beneath the fishing boat marked the beginning of the game.
Since there was no obstruction between the light source, the sun, and the fishing boat, that was not a shadow.
The creature, which had been sucking salmon deep within the unseen river, rapidly ascended to the surface.
“Lynn!”
“I know.”
A melody of light blooming enchantingly on my palm, this magic was a hybrid spell of three attributes.
Telekinesis, water, electricity.
Telekinesis was for the repulsive property, that is, a barrier to protect the fishing boat from impact.
Water was added as a property of the barrier and to maximize the power of electricity.
In short, this magic was designed so that [a barrier encircling the fishing boat would block the monster's attacks and electrocute it].
“KiyaaaaaaaaaaaKKKKKK!” The [Snakehead], having tasted electricity, let out a piercing scream.
As the brain's reactive nerves are connected to electric currents, a direct hit from an electric shock naturally has the effect of temporarily depriving any living creature of consciousness.
The [Snakehead], which had been trying to chew and swallow the fishing boat whole with its gigantic maw, should have stopped in that state… but, oh dear?
“KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKK!” Wasn't it thrashing even more wildly?
As it thrashed, the river surged like a living creature, and my barrier-enclosed fishing boat bounced and flew through the air from successive impacts.
“Oh my goodness…!”
“We're all going to die like this…!”
The villagers who had been banging gongs trembled, clutching their heads, while Lista laughed joyfully.
“Lynn, look at this! We're flying above the river!”
It would be a lie if I said I wasn't enjoying it too.
Look at this thing? I thought it was a small fry, but it shrugs off my 3-star magic so easily? The [King's Flesh] is truly remarkable.
However, I couldn't keep enjoying myself.
“Th-this thing is charging towards the village!”
The villagers watching this mad snakehead hunt from the riverbank began to scramble and flee.
Magic circle construction, three trapezoidal layers.
With this, which layered three telekinesis attributes, I tried to form an invisible barrier and bind its movements, but.
─────Cha-ae-aeng!
The [Snakehead] even easily shattered that, further amplifying the momentum of its charge; this thing is amazing!
I wanted to experiment with a few more spells, but playing any further would risk damage to the village.
Rapid Freeze, 4-star Ice Magic. Ice magic is fundamentally based on water attribute magic, but it doesn't mean it can't utilize geometric principles. This is ice magic based on Grand Archmage Zernix's First Axiom.
First Axiom: Things that share the same creative order of providence can change their form under conditions of identical mass.
To explain the First Axiom simply, it is the so-called use of a catalyst.
To create new ice where there is none, appropriate runes and mathematical formulas are required.
However, by using the abundant water here, i.e., the terrain, the equation can be simplified, and one can focus solely on amplifying its power.
“Gyuu!” If I add Sval's power, having fully inflated its body, its speed and mass can be precisely doubled. If you tell me to skip the explanation of principles and just state the result…
Clang, clang, cha-cha-cha-cha-cha-cha-cha-clang…! One could say that the entire upper reaches of the river instantly froze, forming a breakwater to stop its charge. It was not an icebreaker, and its skin would naturally be sensitive to ice.
“KYAAAAAAAAAAK!” Lista didn't miss that single moment when it stopped in pain.
Her armament was just one thing.
A sashimi knife.
In Lista's hand, as she leaped high into the sky, the sashimi knife was covered in a brilliant blue light… and forged into a colossal blade, as if to pierce the sky.
Sword Aura, or Aura Sword.
No matter how it's described, it was undoubtedly the symbol of a swordsman who had reached the pinnacle. And at such a colossal size, should I really call her humanity's officially recognized [strongest]?
However… that wasn't what surprised me. What happened?
That light… it was too similar to the light that appeared every time the Dean used magic.
“Skill name: Are you satisfied, having eaten all that delicious salmon by yourself? Slash (斬)!”
The slash, performed after a ridiculous battle cry, cut the river.
The blade of magic, which cleaved the river as if tearing it apart and precisely cut the magnificent body of the [Snakehead] hidden within the river water in half, didn't stop there; it seemed to reach the riverbed.
In that process, I discovered the [King's Flesh] wriggling within its intestines, and I snatched it out with telekinesis magic.
“Oh, this one's quite big? Even bigger than the last mercenaries'.”
It was then. Since the slash had been powerful enough to overturn the river, there was no way there wouldn't be an aftermath.
A tremendous storm surge engulfed the boat…
And since I had removed the barrier while extracting the [King's Flesh] from the [Snakehead], the fishing boat we were on capsized.
Huh?
I might have drowned.
I can't swim.
Am I going to die? Like this?
But the barrier I had deployed on 『Ossarius Bibbon』 acted as buoyancy, pulling my body to the surface.
“Phew!” I surfaced, gasping for air, and all the people who had been on the fishing boat were trembling like drowned rats, just like me.
“C-cold…!”
“Haa-aah…!”
Due to my ice magic, the water temperature had risen wildly. Lista was no different.
“L-Lynn, c-cold, w-w-warm up the water a bit.”
A hero and the [strongest mage] floundering in the river, saying they're freezing to death…
I didn't know why laughter erupted, why I started laughing. It felt like the first time I had laughed like that without any restraint.
Ha, ha-ha…
Ah-hah-ha…
Ah-hah-hah-hah-hah-hah-hah-hah-hah-hah-hah-hah…
Perhaps my head froze in the cold water and I went mad? Or was it because the absurdity of such a prank being the story of the hero's party struck me?
Still, even now, I don't know.
What I do know is that at that moment, when I started laughing, Lista laughed along with me.
“How was it, Lynn! Wasn't it fun?”
Yes, it was… indescribably fun. What should I call a memory like this?
Yes… on some night spent alone with no one by my side, when I look back on old memories, a smile automatically forms… I should call it ‘Memories of the Hero Party's Journey (追憶)’.