Chapter 389: [Another Perspective] Desperate Struggle

[Aboard the Ship]

The large ship rocked in the violent waves. On its deck, the knights were desperately operating the ship while staying highly vigilant of their surroundings.

“It’s coming again! Steer towards the island!”

“Y-Yes, sir!”

Dee, dressed in uncharacteristically light armor, gave instructions with his greatsword in one hand, and a man wearing a robe responded in a panic. Catching the strong wind generated by wind magic, the ship accelerated so much that its bow lifted.

Immediately after, the sea surface where the ship had been just a moment ago sprayed water as if it had exploded.

“W-What a persistent bastard!”

“Let’s pivot around that large rock!”

Arb glared at the splashing water, and Law shouted, pointing at a large rock sticking out of the sea ahead. However, Khamsin, who was at the stern, shook his head side to side and answered.

“We won’t make it in time! It’s right there!”

Just as Khamsin declared that, as if using his words as a signal, something appeared on the sea surface.

“Which way!?”

Dee yelled as he ran toward the stern, and Khamsin readjusted his grip on his one-handed sword and spoke.

“It’s a fish-like magic beast!”

“Then, I shall settle this in the sea! Everyone, wait here!”

Saying only that, Dee kicked off the deck and leaped. The recoil from his jump made the ship pitch vertically, and Dee flew up absurdly high. Seeing that, Arb and the others gasped.

“Boss! That’s reckless!”

Ortho and the others, who had been running around the deck as crew members, also involuntarily raised their voices. As everyone followed Dee’s back with their eyes, Dee readied his sword in mid-air.

With the large ship below him, Dee looked down at the fish shadow darkening a part of the sea. Confirming the large, rounded shadow, Dee lifted the corner of his mouth.

“I won’t let you escape this time! Nuryyyaaaah!“

Dee raised his greatsword and yelled, putting his entire body’s strength into the strike. In response, the magic beast in the sea swiftly lifted its face, exposing its head above the water. It was the magic beast Van had named the monster whale.

For Dee, who was right above it, this should have been a perfect opportunity. However, as if it had eyes on the top of its head, the monster whale arched its back, opened its massive mouth that looked like it could swallow a ship whole, and closed in on Dee.

Seeing that, Arb, Law, and Khamsin gasped.

“Sir Dee!”

“Look out!”

“W-We have to go back……!”

The three panicked, but the ship was still decelerating, moving further and further away from Dee and the monster whale.

“It’s no good, we won’t make it in time!”

“Pluriel! What about magic!?”

“There’s no time to chant!”

Ortho, Kusala, and Pluriel also moved to the stern and let out panicked voices. Everyone shuddered, predicting a future where Dee was swallowed.

On the other hand, Dee remained calm. He swung the greatsword, which was as tall as he was, with one hand and took aim at the magic beast’s mouth. The closest targets were the upper jaw and the fangs—larger than Dee himself—closing in to tear his body apart. Aiming at that, he swung the greatsword down as if slamming the flat part of the blade against them.

“Hmph……!”

With a resounding roar as if struck by a giant hammer, Dee struck the fang. Utilizing that impact, Dee leaped into the air once again. Due to the prey moving in an unexpected way, the monster whale twisted its body and snapped its mouth shut with a loud noise.

For the monster whale, the unexpected situations continued.

It had jumped to eat a small prey, but the prey had jumped up once more, so it couldn’t eat it. Not only that, but the prey it tried to eat was now falling back down toward it again.

Call it wild instinct. Sensing physical danger, the monster whale fell to the sea surface and tried to retreat underwater, but Dee, gripping his greatsword tightly, swung down at it.

“Sei!”

A strike from Dee filled with fighting spirit. Purely to inflict a large wound on the monster whale’s body, Dee raised both hands and swung the greatsword down. The greatsword, swung in a large arc, cleaved deeply into the back of the monster whale’s head.

A scream that made one want to cover their ears. The scream the monster whale let out as its body trembled was loud enough to drown out all surrounding sounds. However, Dee did not falter; he kicked off the monster whale’s back, leaped, and raised his greatsword again.

At that moment, an anomaly occurred on the large ship Arb and the others were riding.

“I-It appeared over here too!?”

“Two at the same time……!?”

Arb and Law shuddered at the black shadow approaching the ship. The giant shadow swimming underwater was a clear threat, and normally an opponent incredibly difficult to deal with. Dee was a special case; their only option here was to run. Precisely because he understood that, Arb immediately issued instructions.

“Send the wind! Evade by turning right! We’re moving towards the Commander!”

Arb tried to retrieve Dee while distancing the ship from the monster whale. That judgment couldn’t be called a mistake. However, the chanting time needed to activate the wind magic was slightly lacking.

“Damn it…… Did we notice too late!?”

Drawing his sword, Arb moved to the port side. Law was steering the helm, but he dropped his hips and clenched his teeth to brace for the impact.

At that moment, Khamsin drew his sword and ran toward the edge of the ship.

“Khamsin! It’s impossible!”

Law, watching from behind, shouted in a panic, and Arb followed Khamsin with his eyes, a startled look on his face as the boy ran past him.

Without a shred of hesitation, Khamsin gripped his sword tightly, kicked off the deck floor, and leaped.

“You bastards……! Because of you guys! Lord Van isn’t here……!”

Letting out a scream like he was coughing up blood, Khamsin slashed at the monster whale. Seeing his back, Arb ran.

“Damn it! I thought he had finally calmed down, but not at all……!”

Arb chased after him, dripping with cold sweat, but from the sea surface, the monster whale was charging at them with its mouth wide open. No matter how he thought about it, he wouldn’t make it in time.

“Goddammit……!”

Yelling, Arb threw the straight sword he was holding. The sword spun vertically and flew into the monster whale’s mouth. From the monster whale’s perspective, a sword the size of a small stick flying at it probably wouldn’t even cause a scratch as thin as a hair. But even so, he couldn’t help but do something.

“Our weapons are way too small against that giant!”

From behind Arb, Kusala also threw his throwing knives. The swords and knives of the two passed by Khamsin and pierced into the monster whale’s mouth.

Immediately after, two violent sounds rang out in succession, and the monster whale shuddered, twisted its body, and returned to the sea as if to escape. Khamsin fell into that spot. Khamsin’s sword had only inflicted a faint scratch on the monster whale, but even so, his blade had reached the magic beast.

And then, Khamsin plunged into the sea.

“……! Khamsin!”

“Boss! I’ll jump in, so have a rope ready for me!”

“Leave it to me!”

Arb clung to the handrail calling his name, and Kusala dove into the sea. Ortho swiftly grabbed a rope and ran.