Chapter 255: Escape from the Demon City
「Oracle, is that tentacle oneesan the Mother of Chaos herself?」
「It could be her, or just some kind of avatar, but I’ve never seen anything like this before. Even I don’t have all the answers!」
The tentacles writhed and stretched, tearing apart the nearby demon city, Laurentite. The city had already turned into a nightmarish hellscape.
People were running in every direction, panicked, with no clue where safety might be. Hydra, piloting the Metal Dragon, shrieked.
「Where are we supposed to run to?!」
A massive tentacle slithered down the main street, piercing straight through the demon king’s castle at its center in an instant. Lyle-sensei shouted.
「Head to the port! Those tentacles seem focused on destroying Laurentite right now. The fleet should have enough time to escape. The problem is what happens after…」
「Oracle.」
「I told you, I don’t know! I have no idea how to deal with that thing!」
Judging by the clear intent to destroy, it seemed like this tentacle oneesan wasn’t just some ordinary manifestation. It looked similar, but it might actually be an angry god intent on annihilating this world. The port was a scene of utter chaos when we arrived. We just had to keep running. When we finally reached our flagship, the Beautiful Queen Silhouette, Admiral Drake greeted us.
「King General, what the hell is that thing?!」
「Don’t ask me. Just get away before those tentacles catch up to us!」
If Oracle doesn’t know, there’s no way I’d have an answer.
「Also, sir, the refugees are begging to board the ship.」
「Take on as many as you can. This city’s lost.」
Laurentite was being swallowed by a sea of tentacles as we loaded the refugees. The Silesie fleet scrambled away, pushing out into the lake.
As we distanced ourselves from the port, I could finally see the full, apocalyptic scene. That monstrous tentacle oneesan—born from the Mother of Chaos’ resurrection ritual conducted by the Great Demon King Ifriil—was tearing everything apart.
And the first city she destroyed was Laurentite, of all places. How bitterly ironic. But there was no time for sentimentality.
「Hey, what the hell is that?! Those disgusting tentacles are coming this way! Fire the cannons!」
Admiral Drake ordered the fleet to open fire, bombarding the approaching smaller and larger tentacles. But there were just too many of them.
Beasts spawned from the tentacle oneesan’s feet rushed in as well, overwhelming even the thousand cannons of the Silesie fleet. Tentacles slithered up onto the decks of the black cedar warships.
Sherry and the others were shooting down the smaller tentacles with muskets, but Berenice and Clementine were the first to fall prey to the wriggling limbs.
「Kyaaa!」
「Clementine!」
They were trying to engage the tentacles in close combat—no wonder they got caught. At least they were wearing mithril armor, so they should be fine.
「This is awful! They’re crawling into my clothes!」
「Get off of Clementine, you squid freak!」
Are they really going to be okay…? Also, these tentacles are probably female, not male, but that’s not the point right now. They’re coming this way, too.
More tentacles slithered toward me, but with the Neutral Sword in hand, I sliced through them with ease. Each tentacle wasn’t particularly strong on its own.
However, the sheer size of that creature and the seemingly endless number of tentacles made it nearly impossible to deal with.
「Are you okay, Lyle-sensei?」
「This is absolutely revolting. Now I understand why Oracle and the others are so afraid.」
I pulled Lyle-sensei, who had been wrapped in tentacles, to safety. Meanwhile, Oracle and Kaara were slicing through the large tentacles with powerful shockwaves.
It’s a relief that neither of them has run out of magic power yet. Before I realized it, Are and Ria were also being dragged into the tentacles.
「Ria too?」
「It couldn’t be helped!」
I rescued Ria from the tentacles as well. Lyle-sensei had already exhausted her magic power, and Ria had used up her Silver Feather earlier, so she was powerless.
Well, at least I can save my own wife. Luckily, even tentacles can’t keep coming forever.
The Dragon Maids had also returned to the flagship. As they regained their footing, the Dragon Maids began pushing back against the tentacles with ferocity.
Now, all we need to do is break through this tentacle-infested lake.
「Is it finally over?」
「No, not yet. King General, look over there!」
Admiral Drake pointed toward a massive tentacle, the size of the one that had pierced the demon king’s castle earlier, writhing across the water and rapidly closing in on us. The Silesie fleet immediately concentrated their firepower, but the enormous tentacle barely flinched.
「Is it too big to shoot down? Looks like it’s up to us. Oracle!」
I summoned every ounce of strength from Lara’s power and unleashed the full output of the Neutral Sword, slicing through with all my might.
Even if that didn’t work, we still had the Dragon Maids on our side. Together, we could handle one massive tentacle, right? But Drake stepped in to halt us.
「King General, let us handle this. We haven’t had our chance yet. Let us do it.」
When Drake says he’ll handle it, he’s not talking about ordinary cannons. He means the two Magic Armstrong Cannons that only the flagship possesses.
「But Drake—」
I had considered that, but the repeated battles had already damaged the flagship’s hull. Even under normal conditions, firing those cannons would cause the ship to creak. With the flagship already partially damaged and hastily repaired, there’s a real risk that firing the main cannons could sink the ship.
If the flagship goes down due to the recoil, we’d be the ones in trouble. I was about to stop him when Lyle-sensei interrupted.
「Takeru, let’s let Admiral Drake handle this.」
「But, sensei—」
Drake stood proudly, his prosthetic leg clattering against the deck. His wife, one of the Dragon Maids—was it Asatte?—squealed with excitement. ‘Oh my, my dear looks so gallant!’
「The Master Strategist understands me well! Hey, lads! We’ve been pushed around long enough. If we don’t make a stand now, we’ll disgrace the Silesie fleet’s name. Let’s hit that oversized monster with a shot it won’t forget!」
Following Drake’s command, the two Magic Armstrong Cannons on the flagship aimed directly at the enormous tentacle, which towered far above the ship.
「Can we really pull this off?」
Lyle-sensei whispered in my ear, ‘I have something I want to try.’ so I decided to hold back and watch for now. If this fails, we’re still here to step in. Even if the ship gets stranded, we can always jump ship if needed.
「Alright, you giant squid or whatever you are, let’s see how you like a shot right to your ugly base!」
Drake shouted with all his might. The Magic Armstrong Cannons fired at his command.
The flagship creaked violently under the strain, but it managed to withstand the force of the shot, holding together just long enough to unleash its powerful strike. As the smoke cleared, the massive tentacle of the creature had been severed cleanly from its base.
「We did it!」 Drake cheered.
「Incredible, Drake. You actually pulled it off.」
Without missing a beat, Lyle-sensei took charge.
「Impact confirmed. We’ve verified that the main cannon is effective against the giant tentacles. Now, let’s use this opportunity to withdraw.」
「What do you mean, Master Strategist? Didn’t you see? We just took it down!」
「The Magic Armstrong Cannons are only on the flagship. There are at least a hundred tentacles of that size. Plus, the ship’s internals are already damaged from that shot. If we keep firing, the ship could fall apart. Do you still want to press on?」
「Damn it….」
The outer hull made of Black Cedarwood was unharmed, but the ship’s internal structure was still wooden. Even though it was made of durable oak, repeatedly firing the main cannons would be impossible without further damaging the compromised hull.
If they fired again, the keel itself might shatter to pieces. Even in the heat of battle, and while covered in the slimy mucus of the tentacles, Lyle-sensei was keenly aware of the situation.
「Admiral Drake, everyone’s efforts weren’t in vain. We’ve proven that we can strike back against this enemy. We’ve gauged the extent of its power. This shot was a significant victory. We cannot afford to lose the Silesie fleet here. Let’s withdraw now to fight another day.」
「…Understood. Alright, everyone, we’re pulling out!」
The Silesie fleet, pursued by the colossal creature, retreated down the Lawrence River, leaving the battlefield behind. Even the world’s strongest fleet, the Silesie, was forced to retreat in the face of such a foe.
The colossal tentacle oneesan, over a hundred meters big, had appeared out of nowhere and consumed the demon city Laurentite in an instant. She—or whatever it was—might be the Mother of Chaos herself, a being as powerful as this world itself.
What will this creature do next? It would be a blessing if it just disappeared somewhere. But if it truly intends to destroy the world, how can we possibly stop it?
With no clear plan coming to mind, I maintained a confident facade, encouraging the crew and reassuring them that we still had options.
Deep down, however, I silently resolved to leave the next steps entirely to Oracle and Lyle-sensei.