Book 17 Chapter 24

Former Rulers,

Ancient Madness Summoning the Sea Wind (4)

The first encounter with an enemy took place on the fifth day of the voyage, during the journey to the Tershi Archipelago… that is, at sea.

"Sigh, my life."

Friede said.

The three suns were setting, casting a faint twilight over the surface of the sea, where she had cast her fishing line.

"Sigh, sigh. I thought after becoming a shamaness, my hardships would end and happiness would begin."

As soon as she muttered such lamentations, cold gazes from her party members! Friede quietly shut her mouth and swished her fishing line back and forth.

How long had they been like that!

On the night sea where even twilight had faded, everyone but Friede was asleep, and just as she thought she might finally get a bite, a shadow fell ominously over her fishing line.

"What's that?"

Its presence was so sinister that it felt as if the shadow had transformed the world's dimness into darkness.

Friede lifted her head.

Something was floating on the sea. It was looking down at Friede as if mocking her. But from its appearance to its presence, it was both somehow familiar and utterly alien.

"A witch?"

At first glance, it was definitely a witch. It wore a pointed hat and was on a broomstick.

"No, something's strange."

But not only the bristles of the broomstick, even the hair flowing down from under the pointed hat was wriggling silently.

"Isn't that a snake? Crazy! And what's that robe? It looks like it's woven from fish scales, which clothes shop makes such awfully tasteless robes?"

"Heh…"

"Are you laughing? Where are you from? How dare you smirk while I, Friede, the shamaness of the Fire Dragon, am speaking? I'm already in a foul mood today, so do you want me to vent my anger on you?"

The moment Friede seemed to be irritably putting her pipe in her mouth, it exhaled a powerful flame of smoke without any warning or killing intent.

What an outburst!

Has she gone mad!

But no!

Friede's expression was utterly serious, as if she were facing foes from the abyss.

"Indeed, it was as I expected."

The surprise flame contained a murderous amount of heat that would have burned even skilled individuals beyond endurance.

But the unidentified witch…!

Could this be the textbook example of incantation-omitting magic? She instantly enveloped herself in seawater like a barrier and lightly shook it off.

"Your rejuvenated appearance seems much uglier than before, doesn't it? Old hag Louvrianne."

Amidst the vast steam formed by the meeting of fire and water, was such a description truly appropriate for the being that emerged?

Skin that glowed with the light of the deep sea…!

That wasn't all. Behind her ears were gill-like structures, and fish scale-like patterns were visible all over her skin.

"I wonder how you found out about my plan to lure you to the Southern Sea and plunge you to the bottom."

"Didn't I tell you? My body has a unique constitution, so illusions don't work on me at all. I saw those things on the skin of the subordinate you sent me. So if you wanted to trick me, you should have sent someone clever."

"Hee hee hee, you're as lacking in charm now as you always were. Don't you know the saying 'the stone that sticks out gets hammered'?"

Just as the current shamaness and the former shamaness seemed to exchange smiles, spells that had reached their peak proficiency, omitting parts of their incantations, were recited at super-high speed and clashed!

'Dracutos is being pushed back…?!'

Friede's eyes widened.

Although some incantations were omitted and the power was reduced, the same must be true for the other side.

But this dragon's flame is being so overwhelmingly pushed back by mere water?

"If you had known about this threat, you should have cleverly avoided it. You're cornered because of baseless bravado, Friede! This sea is my domain, and all this water is a blessing bestowed upon me!"

The secret lay in Louvrianne's hair.

The hair that had transformed into snakes was assisting its owner's incantations with their mouths!

What multi-casting! Has this shamaness also become capable of multi-casting, the specialty of mages, by falling and becoming a Naga?

"Hmph, if it's like that, I can do it too!"

Friede swung her pipe as if striking down, and its tobacco ashes wove together in the air into beings of fire.

High-ranking fire spirit, Hagnis!

Two Hagnis entities majestically stood guard on either side of Friede, assisting her spell incantations. More precisely, they mimicked the incantations directly, operating on the principle of using the same spells.

"To create Hagnis without any incantation, what incredible talent. It was truly a good decision to decide to eliminate you first."

"Who are you to brag?"

"It's useless. Since you say illusions don't work on your body, it seems you can't see the fog that now envelops the entire sea."

"What, the Hagnis are disappearing? Why!"

"This fog is none other than the ancient sea mist! Anyone exposed to this fog falls into a deep nightmare from which they can never escape. And I, Louvrianne, have amplified the humidity to the extreme. So that flames cannot properly ignite!"

This was the open sea!

But the deep blue fog enveloped the entire horizon, to the point where even the wake of the boat was invisible!

Within that fog, countless witches of the Black Rose Society, mutated into Nagas, were surging forward, truly a crisis!

"Your specialty was clearly to make Hagnis follow your incantations and then recite psalms, wasn't it? But what about now? Your proud flame magic has been neutralized, and you don't even have time to recite psalms!"

"Who are you underestimating, you senile old hag!"

"Until now, you must have defeated strong enemies who claimed the [King's Flesh] with that power. But I am different. I have been immersed in magic for 65 years! I am proficient in both spells and psalms. Your weaknesses are as clear to me as the palm of my hand, Friede!"

Friede put her pipe in her mouth.

Louvrianne had left her alone, not knowing what spell she intended to use, but to make her realize the violent power disparity…

Instead of reciting a spell, she let out a chuckle! Had she gone mad from being cornered?

"Old hag, it seems you're seriously mistaken… I haven't been defeating strong enemies with *this* power at all."

"You have other means?"

"You should have done at least some research if you intended to challenge 'us' head-on!"

At that moment, a golden wave spread low across the surface of the sea… and the Nagas, who had approached within inches of the speedboat, shrieked!

"What's happening?"

It was lightning.

The power of lightning had been reduced to infinitesimal particles, then woven into waves and deployed over a wide area.

'There's no lightning magic. When did this guy even establish magic? No, are there any signs of him using magic?'

This was the 3-star magic, Lightning Blade (雷擊刃), which would later proudly be listed in Archmage Rin's [You Can Do It Too, Practical Lightning Magic] 5-piece set!

"I, I… am the strongest…!"

What caught the astonished Louvrianne's gaze was a young mage with closed eyes, roaring while extending a staff of light forward.

'What? The ancient sea mist is still there. That guy is still wandering in a nightmare. But how?'

The nightmare that assaulted Rin was… a dream where he participated in the [National Strongest Contest] but was ridiculed by all the judges!

'You cannot become the strongest.'

'Heh heh heh, for the likes of you to enter this contest! This contest is ruined now.'

Such terrifying condemnation! It would be enough to break anyone's spirit!

But Rin!

The young mage who had sincerely walked the path of [Strongest Mage] more than anyone else, the problem was that his mind had completely snapped, making him a madman!

'You dare mock my [strongest]? Fine. If you can stop my [strongest], I'll acknowledge it…'

That resolute will, under the protection of the Golden Cloak, compelled him to instinctively employ self-defense measures against the looming threat in reality outside the nightmare! A master!

"It's that boy. He's still unconscious! Get rid of that boy first!"

"Understo… Ugh!"

Just a single stroke.

The number of sword strokes required to instantly separate the necks and heads of the Nagas climbing onto the boat.

What completed that moment of artistic slaughter was the radiant gleam of the holy sword, shining so brightly even within this fog.

'Rista, it's your birthday party.'

That was Rista Alter Shirpang!

'Wow, Rin! Thank you!'

The sea mist, amplified by the shamaness with extreme malice, had plunged even Fae'Quoria's body into a nightmare.

'My special Northern Cuisine 12-dish set. I made so much the table legs are about to break. Here, eat.'

'H-hold on a second.'

'What, you're not going to eat? Are you ignoring my sincerity right now? Are you going beyond regional discriminatory remarks to regional discriminatory actions?'

Rin in the nightmare restrained Rista's body with earth-element root magic, then served eel meat grotesquely decorated with eyeballs.

'Eat it, eat it, I'll make your eyeballs burst white, so eat it like you're sucking the juice, eat it now, eat it quickly, eat it deliciously, eat it right now, hurry up and eat it, slurp it down, eat it aggressively.'

N-nooooooo… Help me, Shirpang!

That spontaneous scream of repulsion was able to manifest with monstrous power in both the nightmare and reality, with the help of the Peerless Holy Sword Shirpang!

In the nightmare, with the power to destroy root magic, serving dishes, and table legs; in reality, with artistic swordsmanship that punished all Nagas! A mad master!

"What in the… Ugh?!"

The astonished Louvrianne, at that moment, could see a hole piercing her heart.

That sight was her last chance.

The only chance to protect her body from the arrows that, in the next moment, would accurately penetrate all her vital organs with pinpoint precision!

'Kies, you bastard! You're too arrogant lately. Just drinking all the time. This gourd is confiscated.'

That was the archer Kies!

The White Spear Bow Serwevon flickered with majestic brilliance in its master's grasp!

'How about just smashing it?'

Archer Kies's nightmare was the most terrifying of the three!

'That's a good idea? Bring me a stone.'

Stop, please, don't do that…!

In a nightmare, a desperate scream usually produces no sound!

But the White Spear Bow Serwevon connected that will to reality with the communication ability of the World Tree! A truly insane master!

'Even the barrier deployed outside the body was pierced in an instant, ah…'

Serwevon's arrow wounds are not simple. Because they spread roots where they pass, even a simple penetrating wound becomes a fatal injury.

Staggering…

Louvrianne, who had been staggering on her broomstick, vomiting fresh blood, finally let out a dying gasp and fell into the sea.

"…!"

What surprisingly snatched Louvrianne just before she fell into the sea was Friede, the shamaness of the Fire Dragon, who had just been her adversary.

"Why, why on earth? Why did a devout shamaness like you fall so hideously? What, for what reason?"

To understand the transparent tears welling in Friede's eyes, one must understand that until today, the two had a friendly senior-junior relationship.

Friede calling her "old hag" was not a derogatory term, but an expression of familiarity from having known her since childhood.

After her master died and her education with the Fire Dragon Bel'Dakidun ended, it was Louvrianne who took care of her like a mentor.

"Say something!"

At her words, Louvrianne coughed up blood but still smiled.

"Hideous? Friede, you've never grown old, so you can never understand me. You'll never understand me while you maintain that youth."

"Even if I get old, I would never do such a thing! Fine, I'll concede everything and say you became a Naga. But why did you attack me? Was I, to you, nothing more than that?"

"Originally, after gaining this power… I don't even remember what I was trying to do anymore… but that the voice of Baoba dominated my soul… that much I can definitely say…"

"Baoba? What's that!"

"You will soon find out… Unbeknownst to you… ancient waves have been rapidly pulling you towards the Tershi Archipelago… to where Baoba, the nightmare born of 'Whispering Madness,' awaits you, who possess the finest raw blood…"

"You're seriously driving me crazy! Since this is the end, you could at least explain properly. Never mind! Just say you're sorry! Say it was all the fault of that Baoba, or whatever it is!"

Friede's desperate cry stemmed from the gradually fading pulse she felt through her wrist.

"Friede, with the last remaining power of the abyss, I will cast a curse upon you… Far in the future, one day in your old age, you will seek eternal life…"

"Stop with the nonsense! I swear, that will never happen! I'm going to heaven as fast as possible to enjoy eternity in the arms of handsome oppas!"

"No, whether for the same reasons as me, or for different reasons… by then, you will understand my heart a little, and forgive me…"

The story ended there.

At that moment, a deep-sea reef, invisible to human eyes, silently rose and utterly destroyed the speedboat.

"Ah, no! Old hag! Rin! Rista! Kies! Pipi! S-! Crazy, such tidal power…!"

That power, that wave… tore Louvrianne's body apart and shattered the speedboat into pieces…!

Awaiting ancient madness…!

To the other side of the sea… to the Tershi Archipelago… it was dragging the 'sacrifices'…!"